Trump says chief of staff Susie Wiles out, Miller will replace her

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is exiting the White House, President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Friday.

Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — a Trump loyalist, longtime political adviser and shaper of the president’s immigration policies — will take over on Monday, Trump said. Wiles will move over to the Trump political operation, he added. 

The move marks a shake-up in Trump’s top advisers and comes after the historic midterm election earlier this week, which saw Democrats take control of both the House and the Senate.

In a social media post, Miller said that he is “honored beyond words” to have been selected for the role and thanked Wiles for her “devoted service” and “friendship.”

“The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic,” Miller said. 

As he departed the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters that he “wanted to make a change” with his chief of staff, adding that Wiles had done a good job. 

But sources tell News that Trump was privately blaming Wiles for his midterm’s losses. Once that became clear, sources said Wiles made the decision to submit her resignation, which she did Thursday night.

Wiles confirmed that Friday would be her last day in the position in a statement on social media, saying that serving in her role “has been the honor of a lifetime.”

“While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will,” Wiles wrote.

Wiles was the first person that Trump named to his White House staff following his 2024 election victory, becoming the first female White House chief of staff.

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement at the time appointing her to the position. 

As questions previously swirled about Wiles’s future in the administration, President Trump came to her defense as recently as three weeks ago.

“Susie is here, and she’s going to be here for a long time,” Trump said in October. 

She was a key ally to the president as he sought to orchestrate his return to office in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss that resulted in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Wiles, who served as campaign manager for the entirety of Trump’s 2024 run, was known for running a tight ship and staying away from the spotlight and social media.

A Florida native, Wiles was a longtime powerful Republican adviser for years, and was credited with helping elect the likes of Florida’s Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis back in 2018, but was later pushed out of the governor’s orbit in 2019. Wiles later found herself in the inner-circle of Trump — who went on to defeat DeSantis in the battle for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

As chief of staff, Wiles continued to be an inconspicuous, albeit powerful, figure in the White House — continuing to stay out of the spotlight and speaking infrequently to the media.

In 2025, Wiles sat for a series of 11 interviews with the magazine Vanity Fair — her only in-depth interview — in which she opened up about the first year of Trump’s second term, offering unreserved descriptions of top figures in the administration. In one exchange, according to Vanity Fair, she noted that the president has an “alcoholic’s personality” — a comment that Trump later defended, though he has repeatedly said he doesn’t drink alcohol.

In the interviews, Vanity Fair reported that Wiles noted that there had been a few times where she has been “outvoted” in the administration, and cited Trump’s Day 1 pardons of Jan. 6 rioters as an example, though she noted that eventually she “sort of got on board.”

Wiles told the magazine that Trump had time to think about what he wanted to do before returning to office a second time, giving her the opportunity to pick her battles.

“So no, I’m not an enabler. I’m also not a bitch. I try to be thoughtful about what I even engage in,” she said at the time. “I guess time will tell whether I’ve been effective.”

Wiles battled breast cancer while at the White House, saying in March that she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer; in September she shared she was cancer-free.

Who is Stephen Miller?

Miller, an immigration hard-liner, has worked as one of Trump’s top advisers, including as his deputy chief of staff during the president’s second term in office.

Miller, 41, previously served as a senior adviser and speech writer to the president in the first administration, and rose to the role of deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser in Trump’s second term. 

Miller played a key role in Trump’s first administration, crafting immigration policies — including those that resulted in thousands of families being separated at the border.

After leaving the Trump administration in 2021, Miller became the head of America First Legal, which described itself as the conservative answer to the American Civil Liberties Union. He later joined Trump’s 2024 campaign as a senior adviser to the then-former president. 

Since returning to the White House, Miller has been one of the president’s fiercest defenders, often making the public case for the administration online and on television. 

Trump himself has often publicly lauded Miller for the role he’s played. In May 2025, Trump noted that Miller was “at the top of the totem pole” in the administration and said that he was a “very valued person” on his team. This past May, Trump noted that Miller was an “MVP” in his administration. 

“He’s great. He’s an MVP candidate, that’s all I can say,” Trump said during a Rose Garden event with law enforcement officials.

Reaction to the White House shake-up

Members of the Trump administration are reacting to Wiles’ departure, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying “Patriots in control” in a social media post.

Vice President JD Vance thanked Wiles for her service and congratulated Miller on the “well deserved promotion.”

Several congressional Democrats said Trump’s choice of Miller as the chief of staff shows how little the president learned from the GOP’s midterm losses.

“Clearly they’ve learned nothing,” Rep. Jim McGovern, the incoming Chairman of the House Rules Committee posted on X just moments after the announcement was made.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the decision to appoint Miller is a “kick in the teeth” to voters.

“Buckle up: this is a sign of Trump’s contempt for the voters. In the aftermath of an election that was a repudiation of Trump’s corruption, wars, cruelty, and indifference to the economic pain of Americans, it’s another kick in the teeth to the American people,” Van Hollen wrote in a social media post.

Several Democrats said Miller should be fired rather than given the job.

“Stephen Miller is the most dangerous person in Trump’s administration and should be fired instead of being promoted,” Democratic Sen. Andy Kim wrote in a social media post.

Republicans have for the most part been relatively quiet about Miller’s appointment so far, though a few have posted to congratulate him on his new position.

Outgoing GOP Sen. Thom Tillis called Miller “the worst of all possible choices” to serve as White House Chief of Staff in an interview on CNN Friday evening.

Tillis, who did not seek re-election and who will depart the Senate in January, has been a consistent critic of Miller. 

“We are talking about putting one of the most partisan polarizing figures and not only polarizing in terms of Republicans and Democrats but even among Republicans,” Tillis said. “How do we think somebody as divisive of a background as Stephen Miller is going to be the olive branch we need to the new Democratic majorities in Congress to get things done?”

News’ Allison Pecorin and Emily Chang contributed to this report.