Trump's new chief of staff Miller: "A warning shot towards the future Congress"

Hardliner Miller follows Chief of Staff Wiles: With this decision, Trump is reacting to his party's election debacle - and is embarking on a confrontation course with the Democrats. But Republicans also come across

Trump's new chief of staff Miller "A warning shot in the direction of the future Congress" As of: November 7, 2026 • 5:19 a.m

He simply wanted a change, said US President Donald Trump briefly to reporters. Media reports that Susie Wiles - the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff - was among the staffers Trump blamed for his party's election debacle.

Wiles' successor, Stephen Miller, was previously her deputy and adviser to the president on internal security. He is a right-wing hardliner, has worked for Trump for more than ten years and is considered exceptionally loyal. From the point of view of publicist Chris Whipple, the fact that the President chose him means that Trump does not want to work with the future Democratic majority in Congress.

Whipple wrote a book about chiefs of staff. "Miller's appointment is a real warning shot to the future Congress," he said on CNN. "It's almost like a declaration of war by Trump. Miller doesn't fit the image of a politician who has the necessary political skills to deal with the opposition. He actually only knows one way, and that's full speed towards the abyss."

After the Republicans' devastating election defeat in the midterms, there is a first personnel consequence. more

The Democrats got the signal immediately. "This shows that Trump did not understand what happened on Election Day: a rejection across the board of Trump, his MAGA movement and their policies," said Rep. Adam Smith. "The fact that Trump is now upping the ante - with one of his most combative and polarizing supporters of some of his most extreme policies - shows that he basically learned nothing from the election and failed to recognize where the electorate stood."

Stephen Miller shapes Trump's immigration policies and directs their implementation. Critics consider it brutal, cruel and completely excessive.

Republican MP Don Bacon says on ABC that Miller's migration policy is partly responsible for the Republicans' election defeat: "Deporting people that most Americans don't want to deport was a big reason for the defeat in Texas, Arizona and some areas of Florida," said Bacon. "And Stephen Miller was behind it. So: not a wise personnel decision."

After the defeat in the midterm elections, US Republicans are arguing about the party's future course. more

Miller's foreign policy views are also extreme. In January, he explained in a CNN interview that Greenland belongs to the USA - and that he does not believe in a rules-based world order. "We live in a world where you can talk a lot about international pleasantries, but the real world is determined by strength, violence and power," Miller said at the time. "These have been the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time."

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, considers Trump's personnel decision to be "the worst of all possible decisions":

Work with the Democrats - or be "Mr. Veto": It seems Trump has made his decision.