By Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump named longtime aide Stephen Miller as his chief of staff on Friday, giving the architect of some of his toughest domestic policies one of the most powerful jobs in Washington after Republicans lost control of Congress.
Miller, who will replace Susie Wiles, assumes the role as the president prepares to confront a Democratic-led House of Representatives and Senate and a wave of congressional investigations into his administration.
A longtime proponent of expansive presidential authority, Miller takes over at a moment when the Republican Party’s defeat in Tuesday’s midterm elections could leave Trump more reliant on executive power to advance his domestic agenda.
In a social media post, Trump called Miller “one of my most trusted advisors,” and praised Wiles for doing “an outstanding job.” Trump said the change would take effect on Monday.
A White House official said Miller’s appointment signals that Trump has no intention of rethinking his policies and instead is rewarding his most loyal aides.
“He’s not changing course,” the official said, despite tens of millions of American voters repudiating Trump’s domestic agenda and foreign policy.
Trump said this week he was willing to work with Democrats on Capitol Hill. But elevating Miller, who is known for being caustic and uncompromising, could signal a more confrontational approach and a renewed push to advance the president’s agenda on immigration and other issues, several White House officials said.
Trump had been displeased with his political and communications operations in the run-up to Tuesday’s election as his public approval ratings fell near record lows. This week, he said the White House needed to be “more aggressive” as Democrats retake congressional power, according to a person briefed on the matter.
“The mission now is more clear than ever,” Miller said on X after his appointment. “Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic.”
Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become the new Democratic speaker of the House, responded to the announcement by calling Miller a “reckless extremist” in a posting on X.
MILLER DRIVING IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Miller, 41, is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides and one of only a few who served throughout his first and second terms in office.
Since Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, Miller has officially served as deputy chief of staff under Wiles, but he has wielded outsize influence across much of Trump’s domestic agenda and has had the president’s ear.
He is perhaps best known for driving Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, setting a goal of 3,000 arrests a day. The efforts to meet that target pushed masked US immigration officers into communities around the country, increasingly arresting people with no criminal records and who had been living in the country for decades.
The crackdown, however, gets poor marks with Americans. Just 36% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed early this week approve of it, with 54% disapproving.
Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the party planned to investigate Miller’s immigration policies. “Stephen Miller should lawyer up,” he said.
Miller was also deeply involved in Trump’s campaign to remake the federal bureaucracy, which led to the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants in 2025. He was also a driving force behind the administration’s battles with universities, diversity programs and other institutions.
HAWKISH FOREIGN POLICY
On foreign policy, Miller has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s deadly military strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific, a campaign that has raised legal questions.
He has also praised US and Israeli strikes in Iran and defended a naval blockade and sanctions as ways to weaken Tehran and curb its ability to threaten its neighbors. It is not clear whether that is still his view after voters punished Republicans this week in part for the economic fallout from the Iran war.
Marc Short, who was chief of staff to then-Vice President Mike Pence in Trump’s first term, said that in Miller, Trump is “getting someone who is wed to him” and who is willing to battle Congress over issues like immigration and congressional investigations.
“It would not suggest that there is high expectation for bipartisan legislation,” Short said in an interview.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who faces Democratic calls for impeachment over the Iran war, celebrated Miller’s promotion with a social media post reading, “Patriots in control,” reflecting the enthusiasm of some Trump allies for putting Miller in a position of greater authority.
SHAKE UP AFTER ELECTION SETBACK
The chief of staff typically wields great influence as the president’s gatekeeper. The person manages White House staff, organizes the president’s time and schedule, and oversees other government departments and lawmakers.
Wiles, 69, who submitted her resignation on Thursday night, will move to Trump’s political operation, according to a White House official.
The veteran political operative from Florida was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.
She brought decades of political experience to the role and was regarded as running a more disciplined operation than some of Trump’s prior top aides. She maintained her role even while undergoing treatment earlier this year for early-stage breast cancer.
Wiles rarely challenged Trump’s policies but brought discipline to an often chaotic operation and was seen as a voice of reason. Her exit raises questions about who will play her role.
Trump ran through four chiefs of staff – an unusually high number – during his 2017-2021 term, as they were seen to have struggled to rein in the unpredictable president.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, Jacob Bogage in Washington; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Susan Heavey; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Scott Malone, Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Jonathan Spicer)
