President Donald Trump promotes Stephen Miller to new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles
New York: President Donald Trump has named hardline homeland security adviser Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles just three days after the Republicans’ midterm election rout.
Trump said Miller, currently a deputy to Wiles and “one of my most trusted advisers”, would start in the top job on Monday.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
There had been mounting speculation in recent weeks that Wiles would leave the White House and that Trump was sounding out potential replacements.
Miller, a long-time Trump adviser, was a key architect of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal and irregular immigration.
He is widely regarded as one of the most hardline, conservative figures in the administration, particularly on border security, immigration and American nationalism.
The 41-year-old is a ruthless political operative, highly active in the media, and known for his vicious, often hyperbolic attacks on Democrats and the left, which frequently involve accusations of electoral “cheating”.
“The Democrats have nominate[d] a slate of candidates who are all extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics,” he wrote on X two days before the midterm election. “The entire Democrat agenda is humiliating, subjugating and dispossessing Americans.”
Miller’s style contrasts with that of the departing Wiles, a veteran political operative from Florida, who was credited with running a far more stable and united White House than in Trump’s first term.
Wiles rarely spoke publicly, preferring to remain behind the scenes. She previously said she viewed her role as facilitating the president’s vision, not trying to control or influence his agenda.
“Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honour of a lifetime,” she said on Friday (US time).
“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.
“More than anything, I’m grateful for the extraordinary people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will.”
Wiles, 69, recently underwent treatment for breast cancer, and said in September that she was now cancer-free. She worked throughout the treatment.
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.