Miller replaces Wiles as Trump’s chief of staff
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Friday that Stephen Miller was replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, installing as his closest adviser a loyal, combative bulldog for his “America First” agenda as the president prepares to stare down a newly empowered Democratic Congress next year.
Miller, long a member of Trump’s tight inner circle, is a key architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies. He is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, joining his long-shot 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter. He most recently has served as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and oversees a broad portfolio, though he is best known for his role in Trump’s immigration policy.
The staff shuffle signals that Trump, whose Republican Party was handed monumental defeats in Tuesday’s midterm elections, is resisting a conciliatory approach to Democratic lawmakers who are eager to investigate the administration -- including Miller himself as a top target. Miller, 41, is a dogged defender of Trump and has built a deep and sophisticated understanding of a president’s executive power and how the federal government operates, portending a potential burst of executive actions in the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
Wiles gave Trump her resignation Thursday night, a person familiar with the events told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation. Trump praised Wiles and said she’d continue to work for his political organization.
Wiles, the steely political operator and longtime adviser to Trump, was the first woman to ever serve in that post and the longest-serving White House chief of staff for Trump, who cycled through four of them during his first four-year term.
“Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honor of a lifetime. I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First,” Wiles said in a social media post shortly after Trump’s announcement.
The departure also came months after Wiles indicated she no longer showed evidence of breast cancer after she underwent months of treatment for the disease, a diagnosis she went public with in March 2026.
During the midterm campaign, Miller took frequent partisan swipes at Democrats, calling them “extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics” on social media and promoting unfounded theories about election fraud in California and Alaska.
He has been a major part of the Trump administration’s anti-fraud task force targeting benefit programs and a decision to suspend Microsoft and others from a green card program. He also served as homeland security adviser at the White House, giving him a perch from which to coordinate with other agencies across the government.
He joined Trump on Friday for his trip to Florida, and the president noted to reporters that “Stephen has been with me from the beginning.
“He gets it; very good politically,” Trump said as he departed the White House. “He’ll do a great job. Great manager.”
But the immigration policies that Miller is so closely associated with were a major liability for Republicans during the just-wrapped election. The midterm AP Voter Poll found that most voters, about 6 in 10, said the administration’s immigration enforcement actions had gone too far and they “somewhat” or “strongly” disapproved of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement had handled its responsibilities.
“Just days after the American people rejected his corrupt and lawless presidency, Donald Trump is doubling down,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is set to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee. “Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families.”
In a statement, Garcia added, “Stephen Miller should lawyer up.”
Wiles, the daughter of the late NFL player-turned-broadcaster Pat Summerall, cut her reputation as someone who brought discipline to the president’s chaotic style.