After Republican losses, Trump appoints Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, succeeding Susie Wiles

- Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, is leaving her post days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections, and will be succeeded by Stephen Miller, a longtime aide to US President Donald Trump, who was the architect of his tough immigration agenda. The move is the first major change in the White House staff following the midterm elections, and came after Trump expressed extreme anger at the strategy that led to Republicans losing their majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to people familiar with the matter.

However, the decision to promote Miller, one of the most powerful and controversial architects of Trump's second term, to the highest administrative position in the West Wing of the White House, indicates that the president does not intend to make a fundamental change in his approach to governing. Trump said that Wiles would move to work on his political team, praising her performance and describing it as "outstanding."

Two sources familiar with the matter said that Wiles submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, while the president announced that the change would take effect on Monday. According to people familiar with Trump's reaction, the president initially seemed unaffected by the results of the midterm elections that took place on Tuesday evening, but he grew angrier as he followed media coverage of the historic losses suffered by Republicans.

This tense mood extended to the corridors of the West Wing of the White House, which has witnessed increasing divisions between different factions in recent days. Trump began expressing his dissatisfaction with his political team during a tense election night reception in the East Room of the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump blamed the strategy followed, considering that it caused the heavy losses suffered by Republicans, and Wiles was among those he held responsible, according to the source. A source familiar with the matter stated that, in the wake of the harsh defeat in the midterm elections, Trump received calls from a number of his allies and those close to him to make changes in the team of his senior aides, considering that there is a need to change the approach followed within the West Wing of the White House.

Miller, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff at the White House and has masterminded some of Trump's most divisive priorities, has expanded his responsibilities over the past year to include broad swaths of domestic policy. Miller has been working with Trump since his first presidential campaign, which launched in 2015.

Wiles said, in a statement she previously posted on the “X” platform, Twitter, that working with Trump was “the honor of a lifetime,” expressing her pride that she was part of what they achieved together. “My role may change, but my commitment to the president and his message will never change,” she added.

A source familiar with these discussions said that Trump asked his allies over the past few days whether they saw Miller as a suitable choice to succeed Wiles. Trump also floated the name of Jay Clayton, Director of National Intelligence, as a potential candidate for the position, according to the same source.

Before becoming the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, Wiles served as Trump's 2024 campaign manager. She recently announced that she had completed treatment for breast cancer.

During Trump's first term, four people served as White House chief of staff, while Wiles remained in the position longer than any of them. Wiles followed a strategy that did not seek to fundamentally change the way Trump handled his duties or his priorities, but instead relied on enlisting influential figures in his inner circle to help shape his governing agenda.

Trump, who often described his prominent aide, known for her assertiveness and lack of courtesy, as an “ice maiden,” confirmed only last month that she would remain in her position for the foreseeable future. “Susie is here, and she's going to be here for a long time,” Trump said on October 16.