Stephen Miller Becomes White House Chief of Staff, Replacing Susie Wiles After Midterm Losses

Stephen Miller, 41, began work Monday as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections. President Trump announced the change Friday on Truth Social. Miller had been a deputy chief of staff and is known as the architect of Trump's mass deportation policy. The announcement surprised many, since administration members had denied reports that Wiles was leaving. Several senior women have also left recently, including Justice Department official Harmeet Dhillon and Katie Zacharia, who was press secretary for five days. In a 60 Minutes interview aired over the weekend, Trump said his deportation policy was "too tough." On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become Speaker in January, called the choice "awful" and said Democrats would not work with Miller. He said he had talked often with Wiles. Also Sunday, Miller's wife, Katie Miller, announced on X that she is ending her podcast, launched in August 2025, to spend time with their four children.

The right-leaning Daily Wire leads with Jeffries's vow to shut Miller out, quoting him at length, while the Washington Examiner leads with Katie Miller's family-focused statement and the dates of the handover. The Examiner also links to a story on Democrats attacking Miller. Both mostly omit the midterm losses, the Trump "too tough" remark and the recent departures. The left-leaning Guardian and CBS News instead lead with Miller's immigration record. CBS reports sources saying the crackdown will not ease and that lawmakers may be reluctant to work with him. The Guardian adds the midterm rebuke, Democrats' claim that Trump is ignoring voters, and the staff exits. Both sides report Democratic resistance, but the right presents it as a Democratic refusal to cooperate and the left as a consequence of his policies. Semafor offers a separate angle: business leaders lose a channel to Trump once handled through Wiles.