In a prominent change at the head of the US administration, Donald Trump chose his close advisor Stephen Miller to assume the position of White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Susie Wiles, who left her position after the electoral defeat of the Republicans. Miller is known as the architect of hard-line immigration policy and mass deportations.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 11:33

To view this content from YouTube, it is necessary to allow the collection of viewing rates and YouTube ads.

It appears that an application in your Internet browser is preventing the video player from loading. In order to view this content, you must cancel its use.

In an indication of Trump's determination to wage a fierce confrontation after the resounding defeat of the Republicans, US President Donald Trump on Friday appointed Stephen Miller, who is considered the architect of the tough policy towards immigrants, as the new chief of staff of the White House.

Miller's appointment comes in succession to Susie Wiles, who becomes the first prominent figure in the White House to pay the price for the Democrats' landslide victory in the elections that took place earlier this week.

Democrats pledged to confront Miller, whose name has been associated with strict immigration policies and mass deportations that formed one of the pillars of Trump's second term, "at every step."

In answer to a question about the reason behind his appointment of Miller, Trump told reporters at the White House, saying: “I wanted to make a change. Sometimes in life you have to make some changes.”

Trump's decision comes as a surprise, especially since he had repeatedly stressed before the midterm elections that there was "no chance" of replacing Wiles. A White House official said that Wiles resigned on Thursday evening.

Miller's appointment is seen as the most prominent indication of Trump's tendency to abandon his attempts to appease the Democrats following the Republicans' defeat in the elections.

Trump later praised Miller's toughness at West Palm Beach Airport in Florida, where he was accompanied by Miller, adding: "He's been with me from the beginning... and he's very loyal."

Miller has been one of Trump's closest aides for decades, and has worked to advance tough policies in line with Trump's "America First" agenda.

At Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Miller on Friday evening addressed a crowd of party supporters and praised Trump for pledging total loyalty to him.

“It is a great honor to serve as President Trump’s chief of staff,” Miller said in a video clip posted on the president’s account on the Truth Social platform.

As deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, Miller was the architect of the mass immigrant deportation program that marked the first year of the president's second term.

But he faced widespread criticism after two shooting incidents that resulted in the killing of demonstrators by immigration officials in Minneapolis in January, which led to the outbreak of mass demonstrations.

“Stephen Miller is the architect of the most brutal and inhumane policies of this administration,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X. “Trump could not have made a worse choice.”

He added: "We will confront him at every step."

France 24/AFP

Keywords related to the article

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.