US President Donald Trump has appointed longtime adviser Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff, placing one of the architects of his hardline immigration agenda at the centre of his administration as he prepares for an expected political confrontation with Democrats following the Republican Party's losses in the midterm elections. Trump announced the staffing change on Friday, describing Miller as one of his "most trusted" advisers. Miller, 41, will take over the role on Monday, replacing Susie Wiles, who has served as chief of staff throughout Trump's second term.
The appointment comes as Democrats prepare to launch sweeping investigations into the administration, including its immigration enforcement policies. With Democrats gaining control of Congress, Miller is expected to play a key role in defending the president's agenda and managing the administration's response to congressional scrutiny. Miller's elevation is also being viewed as a sign that Trump intends to maintain his America First agenda rather than retreat from some of his most controversial policies following the electoral setback. "The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic," Miller said on Friday.
Why Trump chose Stephen Miller
Miller has been among Trump's closest advisers and has played a central role in shaping immigration policy during both of his administrations. His appointment places an experienced policy strategist and a strong advocate of the president's immigration agenda in a key position as the White House prepares for battles with a Democrat-controlled Congress. During Trump's second term, Miller has held a broad policy portfolio but has remained particularly influential in driving the administration's efforts to accelerate deportations of undocumented immigrants, a central promise of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. He also pushed for an expansion of immigration enforcement, including urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make at least 3,000 arrests a day. In May 2025, he publicly called for a sharp increase in daily arrests, putting pressure on the agency's leadership and widening enforcement beyond immigrants convicted of serious crimes. Miller also proposed deploying the National Guard to support mass deportations and backed the administration's expansion of third-country deportations, under which immigrants were sent to countries where they had neither citizenship nor family ties, including several African nations. His enforcement agenda was supported by approximately $170 billion allocated by congressional Republicans for immigration enforcement and border security under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which became law in July 2025.
Miller's role in Trump's controversial immigration policies
Miller's influence on Trump's immigration agenda dates back to the president's first term. He helped develop and publicly defend the executive order restricting entry into the United States by nationals of several Muslim-majority countries. The travel ban triggered protests and legal challenges, with its third iteration upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. He was also a leading advocate of the administration's 2018 zero-tolerance policy for illegal border crossings, which resulted in thousands of children being separated from their families. Trump eventually backed away from the policy. Miller also pushed for reductions in refugee admissions. The administration repeatedly lowered the annual ceiling, setting it at 15,000 for the 2021 fiscal year, then a record low. His policy priorities extended to legal immigration as well. Miller advocated penalising legal immigrants who received public benefits and making it more difficult for them to obtain US citizenship. During Trump's second term, he supported the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, where they were held at the CECOT maximum-security prison. The move triggered a legal battle, and the Supreme Court blocked the administration from immediately deporting Venezuelans without giving them an opportunity to challenge their removal. In May 2025, Miller also said the administration was considering suspending the constitutional mechanism that allows detainees to challenge their confinement in court. At a conference in Miami in March 2026, he argued that military force, rather than conventional criminal law enforcement alone, was necessary to defeat drug cartels. He also appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office this summer when the president signed executive orders seeking to deny citizenship to certain children born in the United States, after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier order seeking to end birthright citizenship.
Political challenges behind the appointment
Miller's appointment comes at a time when Trump's immigration agenda is facing growing political scrutiny. Although polls in 2024 showed that most Hispanic voters supported mass deportations in principle and backed Trump in large numbers, reports of individual cases of immigration enforcement prompted a backlash within the community. Republicans lost Hispanic support in the midterm elections, undermining expectations of a lasting political realignment in the party's favour. The electoral setback has added to the pressure on the administration as Democrats prepare to scrutinise its immigration policies. Trump has previously retreated from some of the hardline measures championed by Miller. During his first term in 2018, the president imposed the Miller-backed zero-tolerance policy that led to family separations at the US-Mexico border, but subsequently backed away from it. Miller's appointment therefore signals Trump's decision to place a close and influential adviser, who has consistently pushed for tougher immigration enforcement, in a central leadership role as the administration faces mounting political and congressional challenges.
