WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Donald Trump on Friday, November 6, 2026, named Stephen Miller, the architect of his hardline immigration crackdown, as his new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles three days after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. Miller, 41, takes over on Monday, November 9, while Wiles, 69, moves to the president's political operation, USA Today reported.
Trump announced the move on Truth Social, writing: "I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen Miller, the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the Chief of Staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026. 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 — She has done a great job!" The Daily Caller reported the full text of the post.
It is the most significant White House personnel move of Trump's second term, and it signals that the president does not intend to change course after the midterm defeat. Democrats won control of the House and the Senate on Tuesday, November 3, in what USA Today called a historic rebuke, flipping House districts that had voted for Trump by double digits in 2024 and Senate seats in historically Republican states including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. Read more: Democrats Win Control of House and Senate in 2026 Midterms, Ending Republican Rule of Congress.
"Stephen's been with me from the beginning"
Speaking to reporters shortly after the announcement, Trump praised his incoming chief of staff. "Stephen's been with me from beginning. He gets it, very good politically, and he's a very good man," he said. "I think I wanted to make a change," he added. "I think Susie's done a very good job, great job. Stephen's been great. We've got to make moves. Sometimes in life, you have to make moves."
Miller, who has been deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser since the start of Trump's second term in January 2025, responded on X on Friday: "It has been the privilege of my lifetime to have served on his team from Day One, and I am honored beyond words to serve as his White House Chief of Staff." He thanked Wiles for her service and friendship, adding: "The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic," CNN reported.
The White House confirmed that Miller will become the 33rd chief of staff, according to The Statesman. He has worked for Trump since his first presidential campaign, which began in 2015, and wrote Trump's first immigration policy paper as a campaign staffer that year. Over the past year he widened his portfolio beyond immigration to wide swaths of domestic policy and has advocated for an expansive view of executive power, CNN reported. CNN also reported that Miller directed immigration officials to meet a daily target of 3,000 arrests, a figure the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly denied.
Wiles resigned on Thursday night
Wiles submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, and Friday was her last day as chief of staff. Trump said publicly late on Friday that her departure was "not because of the election." "It's just time. Sometimes you change," he said.
But according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN, Trump had grown angrier as he watched coverage of the historic losses after initially appearing unfazed on election night, and he vented at a tense reception in the East Room that the deep Republican losses were the result of his political team's strategy. Wiles was among those Trump blamed, one person said. As it became clear the president was unhappy with her, Wiles decided to resign, believing he should be able to tap someone to lead his White House who had his full confidence, according to a person familiar with her thinking.
The pressure had been building in public. Hours before Trump announced the decision, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon said on YouTube that Wiles and the political consultants should be removed immediately because of the results. "You have to look to people like Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, and the political consultants that are there and, quite frankly, my strong belief is because of the results they should be removed and removed immediately," Bannon said.
Wiles, the first woman ever to serve as White House chief of staff, had been Trump's campaign manager in the 2024 election and worked on all three of his campaigns. She lasted longer in the post than any of the four chiefs of staff Trump cycled through in his first term. As recently as October 16, Trump had insisted she would stay: "Susie is here and she's gonna be here for a long time," he said. She was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in March 2026 and announced in September that she was cancer-free after treatment.
In a statement on X on Friday, Wiles called serving Trump "the honor of a lifetime" and said she was "proud to have been a part of what we've accomplished together." "While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will," she added.
Democrats: "Trump has learned nothing"
Democrats attacked the choice immediately. "Donald Trump learned nothing from his historic defeat," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration. Trump couldn't have made a worse choice. Our Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way."
Administration officials praised the selection. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X that "Patriots in control," calling Miller an "American First fighter" who "never backs down." But the move also puts Miller in the sights of the incoming Democratic Congress: Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Friday that Miller would be a top target. "Stephen Miller should lawyer up," Garcia said.
CNN reported that Trump had asked allies over the past several days whether they believed Miller would be a suitable choice, and also raised Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as a possible candidate. CNN also reported that Miller's wife, Katie Miller, lobbied for her husband to get the job, citing Politico reporting; she appeared to confirm it on X, writing in response to the article: "If your wife doesn't do this, find a new one."
A wider shake-up: three Justice Department exits
The chief of staff change came on the same day that three senior Justice Department officials resigned in the wake of the midterm losses, USA Today reported. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, resigned on Thursday; she said in her resignation letter that she had submitted it in October and agreed to stay until after the election. On Friday, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignations of John Eisenberg, who led the National Security Division, and Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, who had been leading the investigation known as the "grand conspiracy" probe into people who investigated Trump. CNN reported that Quiñones resigned under pressure from department leadership.
The Justice Department also abandoned a lawsuit on Friday, dropping its effort to have California set aside 20,000 ballots, according to USA Today. And Trump told CBS News on Friday that he does intend to fire more people. "I do," he said when asked. "I love my Cabinet. I think they're good. But I'll be doing maybe a few changes. I don't want to mention who."
Trump has blamed the midterm losses on the war in Iran, saying it was "largely true" that the war cost Republicans the election, while insisting he would do it again. Read more: Trump Admits Iran War Cost Republicans the Midterms: "Largely True," but Says He Would Do It Again. Vice President JD Vance made the same argument, calling the war "the reason we lost." Read more: JD Vance Blames Iran War for Republicans' Midterm Rout: "The Reason We Lost Is the War".
What happens next: Miller takes over the West Wing on Monday, November 9, with two years left in Trump's second term and a Democratic Congress preparing to investigate his record. Trump has said more personnel changes are coming, but has not named who else will go.
Sources: CNN, November 6, 2026; USA Today, November 6, 2026; The Daily Caller, November 6, 2026; The Statesman, November 7, 2026. The account of Trump's private anger and of who he blamed for the midterm losses comes from sources familiar with the matter cited by CNN, and is attributed as such. Cover photo: Stephen Miller at a White House dinner for Republican senators, July 18, 2025 — official White House photo by Daniel Torok, public domain via Wikimedia Commons — cropped to 1920×1080 with a small flag of the United States added in the top-left corner.