Trump elevates Stephen Miller after midterms disaster - Semafor
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that Stephen Miller — the architect of his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda — will succeed Susie Wiles as the next White House chief of staff.
The decision to shake up White House leadership was led by Trump, a source close to the White House told Semafor, adding that the president placed some of the blame on her for the party’s catastrophic midterm showing.
His choice of Miller sends an undeniable message of defiance to the incoming Democratic congressional majorities. The current deputy chief of staff for policy is widely disliked by Democrats and even some Republicans who see his agenda as partly to blame for their dismal performance in the midterm elections.
Indiana Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman, who had called for Miller’s firing after the midterms, said elevating him to chief of staff was a “horrible decision.”
Miller’s ascension will cool the prospects of an immigration deal in the next Congress, despite some hopes to find common ground in divided government. A former GOP congressional aide himself, Miller was instrumental in killing a bipartisan immigration deal in 2018.
Questions have swirled in the administration for months about whether Wiles, Trump’s longest-serving top aide, would remain as chief of staff for all four years. Long seen as uniquely qualified in minimizing infighting and drama, Wiles faced a series of blistering pre-election headlines that were described to Semafor as an effort to oust her; Trump stood by her at the time.
One person familiar with the situation described Wiles’ exit as initiated by Trump following his anger over the midterms, but also something she was willing to set in motion.
“She said, ‘Let me make this easy on you, I am going to resign,’” the person said.
Miller counts his share of backers on the right, and his elevation will deliver a boost to Trump’s faithful after the resounding blow of Tuesday’s election. He will begin his new role on Monday, the president said.
“Hiring Stephen sends the right message to the base and he is probably the best possible person to help rebuild our fractured coalition. He is a wartime consigliere,” the person close to the White House said.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a social media post that Miller “will help the Administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term.”
Trump said Wiles, who recently worked through successful treatment for breast cancer, will be moving to his outside political operation. She submitted her resignation on Thursday, a White House official said.
Nicholas Wu and Burgess Everett contributed.
