Trump replaces Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller as chief of staff after GOP’s midterm defeat

Newly appointed White House chief of staff Stephen Miller. File. | Photo Credit: AFP President Donald Trump said Friday (November 6, 2026) that Stephen Miller was replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, mere days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections.On his social media site, Mr. Trump praised Ms. Wiles and said she’d continue working for his political organisation. Ms. Wiles also released a social media statement on Friday (November 6, 2026)."Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honour 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. She added that her commitment to “the President and the mission” will not change.Mr. Miller, long a key member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle, is a key architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies.Ms. Wiles, the steely political operator and longtime adviser to Mr. Trump, was the first woman to ever serve in that post.Ms. Wiles' departure comes almost immediately after the GOP's midterm thrashing on Tuesday (November 3, 2026). She will be replaced by Stephen Miller, a longtime trusted aide to Mr. Trump.The departure also came months after Ms. 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.Ms. Wiles is the longest-serving White House chief of staff for Mr. Trump, who cycled through four of them during his first four-year term.Mr. Miller is one of Mr. Trump’s closest and longest-serving advisers, having jumped on board during his long-shot 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter. He currently serves as White House deputy chief of staff, and though he has a wide-ranging portfolio, Mr. Miller is most closely aligned with Mr. Trump’s immigration policy and rhetoric on immigration.Mr. Miller is a former aide to hardliner former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who would go on to serve as Mr. Trump’s first Attorney General. Published - November 07, 2026 01:10 am IST