Stephen Miller (Screen capture via C-Span)
President Donald Trump has ousted Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, announcing that Stephen Miller, the current deputy chief of staff, will take her place on Nov. 9.
Trump posted the message to his social media site Truth Social on Friday afternoon, informing the public of the change in leadership following the Republican Party’s devastating losses in Tuesday night’s midterm elections.
“I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen Miller, the current deputy chief of staff of the Trump administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the chief of staff starting Monday, Nov. 9, 2026,” Trump posted. “Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as chief of staff — She has done a great job!”
Miller, who has a long history of being closely intertwined with the 47th president, was a key voice in both of Trump’s presidential campaigns and served as one of his closest advisers. Prior to his tenure as deputy chief of staff, he served as a Homeland Security adviser beginning in 2025 and previously worked as a senior adviser and director of speechwriting during Trump’s first administration.
One of his biggest policy pushes while serving as Homeland Security adviser was the forced separation of migrant children from their parents or guardians, a policy that has led the Southern Poverty Law Center to consider him an extremist.
Miller founded the conservative legal organization America First Legal in 2021, which has acted as one of the strongest legal arms of the conservative movement in targeting LGBTQ rights and inclusive policies, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, across the country.
America First Legal has worked with the Trump-Vance administration to target federal civil rights protections in K-12 schools and universities, including those related to transgender-inclusive policies.
He is expected to continue pushing anti-inclusive measures while serving as the president’s right-hand man.
Shortly after the White House announcement, openly gay U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, posted a statement on social media warning Miller and other administration officials that, following the change of power in January, they will face investigations by the committee, with the possibility of charges being brought against them for “unconstitutional” actions taken while Republicans held power.
“Just days after the American people rejected his corrupt and lawless presidency, Donald Trump is doubling down. Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families,” Garcia posted on Instagram.
“Oversight Democrats will continue to investigate Miller for his misconduct, and we will fight against his hateful policies in Congress and the courts. Stephen Miller should lawyer up.”
The Washington Blade reached out to the White House press office regarding the change in leadership and whether Miller would continue to push anti-LGBTQ policies while serving as the highest-ranking aide to the president and was directed to a X post made by White House Direct of Communications Steven Cheung.
“Stephen Miller is a Trump OG, someone who has been with the President since the very beginning. There is no bigger advocate for the Trump agenda than Stephen, and he will help the administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term,” Cheung wrote.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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