Stephen Miller Takes Over as White House Chief of Staff
Stephen Miller took up his new role as White House chief of staff on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, succeeding Susie Wiles in the top staff position in the White House. The Guardian reported the start of his tenure. Miller is the 33rd person to hold the post, according to a White House release.
President Donald Trump announced the change on Friday, Nov. 6, in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. In that post he said Wiles had done an outstanding job. Wiles had run Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and is a former lobbyist, according to Reuters.
Miller, who is 41, is a longtime aide to Trump. Before the promotion he served as deputy chief of staff for policy and as homeland security adviser. CNN has reported that he orchestrated Trump's hardline immigration agenda. Reuters has reported that Miller founded the conservative advocacy group America First Legal after Trump lost the 2020 election.
The change comes with other departures from the White House. Richard Walters, a deputy chief of staff and an ally of Wiles, announced that he would leave the administration. Katie Zacharia served five days as White House press secretary after replacing Karoline Leavitt, and then stepped down.
Immigration policy was also in the news over the weekend. In a CBS "60 Minutes" interview that aired on Nov. 7 and 8, Trump said his mass deportation policy was "too tough."
Trump also said over the weekend that he had offered the White House press secretary job to Dana White, the head of the UFC mixed martial arts organization. He later said he was "only kidding." The two were due to meet on Monday, Nov. 9.
