The appointment of an advisor to a position in the White House that indicates Trump's hardening after the election

Following the Republican Party's crushing defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections, Donald Trump said he would be willing to work with the Democrats, who recently rose to power in Congress.

On Friday, however, he named Stephen Miller, his relentless political operator and longtime adviser, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.

Far from being a gesture of conciliation with Congress, Miller's promotion could be a sign that the president is preparing for a political battle by nominating a firebrand supporter to the White House's top job.

"The mission is now clearer than ever: fight with all our might to support our president and defend this magnificent republic," Miller posted on X, adding that he was "immensely honored" to have been Trump's choice for the position.

One of the most powerful positions in Washington, chief of staff is the president's guardian, agenda-setter in the White House and chief negotiator with Congress and other outside political interests.

"Stephen Miller has been with me since the beginning," Trump said in statements to the press after announcing the change on his Truth Social website. "He understands the situation."

Miller is best known for being the driving force behind the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies, which included increased funding for enforcement operations across the United States.

He made news when he called Alex Pretti, who was shot to death by federal immigration agents during a massive deportation raid in Minneapolis, a "domestic terrorist" and a "murderer." He later recanted his words, saying federal agents "may not have followed" proper protocol.

He also reportedly played a leading role in U.S. military operations in Venezuela and against alleged drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which critics condemned as extrajudicial killings.

Miller joined Trump's political team early in his 2016 presidential bid as a strategist and fiery speaker at his raucous campaign rallies.

He was one of the few senior White House officials to persevere throughout his first term. He remained loyal to Trump during his political exile following his failed attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He then returned to the influential role of deputy chief of staff for public policy in Trump's second term.

Susie Wiles, who co-managed the president's successful 2024 reelection campaign, built a reputation as a cool, calculating professional who avoided the White House staff turmoil, drastic policy shifts and personality clashes that characterized Trump's first presidential term.

The president, however, began to fall out with Wiles in recent months as his political popularity in the US declined, culminating in Tuesday's election defeat.

He was also reportedly angered by reports indicating that people close to Wiles were getting lucrative consulting jobs through their connections to the president.

While Trump praised Miller's effectiveness as a coach on Friday, working with Congress could prove challenging.

It's hard to overstate how much Miller is disliked by most Democrats — and some Republicans.

"Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and a reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in X. "His presence in government must be eradicated like a malignant tumor."

Earlier this year, Miller posted on social media that James Talarico, who had just secured the Democratic nomination to run for Senate in Texas, was "the first transgender Senate candidate."

The Democratic Party offered a terse, obscenity-filled response, telling Miller to shut up.

Now, Miller will have to negotiate with a U.S. Senate that includes the newly elected Talarico as one of its rising stars, following an election in which polls showed 58% of voters believe the administration's immigration actions "went too far" and Hispanics turned decisively against Republican candidates.

On Wednesday, in a social media post attempting to explain Republican defeats in the midterm elections, Vice President JD Vance — who is one of the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028 — wrote that he was "open to the idea that we should change law enforcement, focusing more on companies that hire illegal labor, for example."

Now, with a hard-line immigration politician taking command of the White House, that seems less likely.

Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina who is retiring at the end of the year, has been particularly vocal in his criticism of Miller.

He called him "incompetent" and "the architect of some of the Trump White House's stupidest proposals."

Other Republicans, however, have praised him.

"Stephen Miller has been a true conservative warrior since his days as a Senate aide, a staunch defender of law and order against illegal invasions and lawlessness of the left, and a tireless fighter for President Trump for over a decade," Utah Senator Mike Lee posted on X following Trump's announcement.

At a time when Democrats in Congress are promising to launch new investigations and oversight of the Trump administration, it appears that a "warrior" and a "fighter" is the kind of person the president wants running the White House.