THE ALASKA STORY
Nov. 6, 2026 – President Donald Trump announced Friday that Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff on Monday, Nov. 9, in the most significant White House shake-up since Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Trump called Miller “one of my most trusted advisors” in a Truth Social post announcing the promotion. He thanked Wiles for her work and said she would move to his political operation. He gave no details about her new duties.
Wiles submitted her resignation Thursday night. Sources tied her departure to the Republican midterm losses. Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump said he “wanted to make a change” and praised Wiles’ work.
Wiles helped run Trump’s winning 2024 campaign and became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff when he returned to office in January 2025. She held the job longer than any of Trump’s four first-term chiefs of staff. Wiles disclosed an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in March and was reported cancer-free this fall.
Wiles said in a post on X that Friday was her last day in the job. She called serving Trump in the White House “the honor of a lifetime” and said she remained committed to him as she changed roles.
Miller joined Trump’s 2016 campaign as a speechwriter and has remained one of his closest advisers. As deputy chief of staff, he helped shape the administration’s immigration enforcement and deportation policies. His promotion puts one of the officials most closely identified with those policies in charge of the White House staff as Democrats prepare to take over Congress in January.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized the appointment Friday and said the incoming Democratic majorities would challenge Miller’s policies. Rep. Robert Garcia, who is in line to chair the House Oversight Committee, said Democrats on the panel would continue investigating Miller.
