Accused Of Leaks, Blamed For Defeat: How Susie Wiles Fell From Trump's Favour

The 2026 midterm elections resulted in a historic "blue wave" which swept Republicans out of power across both chambers of Congress and shattered long-standing Republican supermajorities in state legislatures.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump replaced his White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff.

According to a report by The New York Times, Trump had been frustrated and proceeded to berate Wiles in front of other staff members and said that his administration had not moved fast to find who he calls "leakers".

He also accused her of being one of the leakers.

Before the shuffle, Trump had told reporters that he "wanted to make a change".

He said that although Wiles did a "great job", "sometimes in life, you have to make moves."

When asked what he would like Miller to do differently, Trump said, "Just run things well."

However, there were deeper conversations Trump has been having in private.

He has blamed Wiles and other political advisers for the election results and claimed that he had been poorly served before the midterms.

At an East Room election watch party Tuesday night, Trump had criticised Wiles in front of many people.

In recent days, Trump had even cut Wiles from hiring decisions, when he chose Katie Zacharia, an inexperienced TV pundit to replace the former press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Before leaving her post, Wiles described working for Trump as the "honour of a lifetime".

"While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will," she added.

After the election loss, Trump appeared civil and conciliatory the first few days after the loss and even said that he would "look forward to working with" the Democrats and that he would "get along" with them.

However, after the week ended, he went back to what he knows best -- ramping up MAGA.

Miller has been a part of Trump's most aggressive decisions such as detaining migrants across the country and bombing boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean after declaring it as foreign invasion.

Trump's choice of the White House chief of staff reveals that he does not want to change his approach despite what is being widely seen as a referendum on his presidency.

According to the report, Miller indicated he has no intention of negotiating with congressional Democrats, expressing instead a readiness to challenge the subpoenas and investigations anticipated from Capitol Hill.

They noted that his main focus is to reunite the divided MAGA coalition and champion initiatives that will mobilise the voter base responsible for Trump's 2024 election victory.

However, the report notes that Miller's allies know that he considers the Iran war a big mistake and wants Trump to return to policies that are important to the MAGA base.