US President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller his new White House chief of staff, The Star reported. The appointment follows heavy Republican losses in the midterm elections. Democrats won both the Senate and the House of Representatives. They will control Congress for the rest of Trump's presidency. Reuters described Miller as a hardliner, and AFP said the move signals a fightback.
Miller replaces Susie Wiles. A US official told CBS News that she handed Trump her resignation on Thursday night. Three sources told CBS that it was tied to the midterm losses. Wiles had planned to stay until the end of the year or early next year, according to sources familiar with her thinking. They said the president sped up her exit. Last month, Trump had said there was "zero chance" of Wiles being replaced soon.
Trump said Wiles had "done a very good job", but "we've got to make moves sometimes". She will move to the "Trump Political Operation". It is unclear whether her deputies will stay.
Miller, 41, is currently deputy chief of staff and served as a senior adviser in Trump's first term. Trump told reporters on Friday that Miller had been with him "from the beginning". He called Miller good at politics and "a very good manager". On X, Miller thanked Wiles and said the mission was to "fight with all of our soul to support our President". Communications director Steven Cheung said nobody backs the Trump agenda more than Miller.
Democrats criticised the appointment. They accused Trump of doubling down even though voters were angry with his party's agenda. Congressman Robert Garcia, who will lead the House Oversight Committee, said he would keep investigating Miller over what he called "misconduct" linked to immigration raids. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Miller "a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist".
Wiles is not the only official to leave after the midterms. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, stepped down on Thursday. John Eisenberg, head of the National Security Division, also left. So did Jason Reding Quiñones, a US attorney in Florida.
Miller worked for Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions from 2009 and joined Trump's campaign in January 2016. He pushed "zero-tolerance" family separations, travel bans and third-country deportations. He also urged immigration officials to make up to 300 arrests a day.