Who is Stephen Miller? Meet Trump's new chief of staff — his views on Iran, Venezuela and Greenland explained

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Stephen Miller was replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, days after Republicans lost control of US Congress in the midterm elections.

Announcing her departure on social media, Wiles called serving Trump “the honor of a lifetime.”

“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First,” she wrote. “More than anything, I’m grateful for the extraordinary people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.

“While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will,” Wiles said.

Miller, long a key member of Trump’s inner circle, is a key architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies. Wiles, a steely political operator and the first woman to serve in the post, was Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff and his longtime adviser.

Who is Stephen Miller, Trump’s new chief of staff

Miller, long a member of Trump’s tight inner circle, is a key architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies

He’s one of Trump’s most loyal and longest-serving advisers. He came aboard Trump’s longshot 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter and has remained in the president’s orbit.

Miller, 41, currently serves as White House deputy chief of staff and, though his portfolio is wide-ranging, Miller is most closely aligned with Trump’s actions and rhetoric on immigration.

He’s a former Capitol Hill staffer who worked for former Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who was Trump’s first attorney general.

During the midterm campaign, Miller took frequent partisan swipes at Democrats, calling them “extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics” on social media. He also promoted unfounded theories about election fraud in California and Alaska.

Miller is a dogged defender of Trump and has built a deep and sophisticated understanding of a president's executive power and how the federal government operates, portending a potential burst of executive actions in the final two years of Trump's presidency.

He has been a major part of the Trump administration’s anti-fraud task force targeting benefit programs and a decision to suspend Microsoft and others from a green card program.

He also served as homeland security adviser at the White House, giving him a perch from which to coordinate with other agencies across the government.

Stephen Miller's views on Iran, Venezuela and Greenland

Miller has praised the US-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year. In March 2026, Miller spoke about the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. As per The Independent, he called them “politically incorrect” and attacked what he called the “woke Pentagon” under earlier administrations.

“What you’re seeing right now … is a military under President Trump’s leadership that is not fighting politically correct. That isn’t fighting with its hands tied behind its back,” Miller was quoted as saying.

Later, on August 29, 2026, Miller said Trump had achieved more against Iran than any earlier US leader, according per Iran International. He pointed to the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of much of Iran’s military leadership.

“The fact that the Strait is open for America and closed for Iran. Their navy’s gone, their air force is gone, their radars are gone, their entire military command structure is gone, the entire terrorist leadership of the country is gone,” Miller told reporters, according to Iran International.

He called it “the most asymmetric military achievement in the modern history of military warfare,” as per the outlet.

On Venezuela and Greenland: In a January 6, 2026 report, The New York Times described how Miller had increasingly become involved in Trump's foreign policy ambitions, including those involving Venezuela and Greenland.

According to The New York Times, Miller also reiterated the president's intention to rule Venezuela following the US military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Who is Susie Wiles?

Wiles is the first woman to ever serve as White House chief of staff

Wiles steered Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. She has long been seen as a check on some of his most destructive impulses.

Wiles, 69, is the second woman to lead Trump’s presidential campaign to victory, although she never embraced the formal title of campaign manager.

She has been credited with steering the most disciplined of his three presidential bids, and Trump himself has said he was often told that Wiles led his “best-run campaign.”

Often called the “ice maiden” by the president, she was seen as the no-brainer choice to serve as White House chief of staff at the start of his second term.

‘I wanted to make a change,’ Trump explains chief of staff shakeup

Trump praised both Wiles and Miller to reporters but said it was time for a change.

“Susie has done a very good job. Great job,” Trump said as he left the White House to travel to Florida. But he said, “We’ve got to make moves sometimes.”

Trump said Miller is great.

“He gets it” and is “very good politically. And he’s a very good man. He’ll do a great job, great manager,” Trump said.

Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York said Trump’s decision to name Miller the White House chief of staff “is a desperate and irresponsible cry for attention.”

He said Miller has been the architect of Trump’s immigration policies and voters have “rejected mass deportations, the targeting of Latino communities.”

To give Miller “a fancier title is just putting lipstick on a pig,” he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia, who is in line to become chairman of the Oversight Committee, said Trump is “doubling down” on the administration policies that voters just rejected in the midterm election.

“Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families,” said Garcia of California.

Garcia said the committee continues to investigate Miller “for his misconduct, and we will fight against his hateful policies in Congress and the courts.”

US midterm election results: What does this reshuffle mean?

The staff shuffle signals that Trump, whose Republican Party was handed monumental defeats in Tuesday's midterm elections, is resisting a conciliatory approach to Democratic lawmakers who are eager to investigate the administration — including Miller himself as a top target.

A handful of remaining Senate and House races still to be called by The Associated Press will determine the strength of Democrats’ majority in Congress.

Democrats will hold at least 54 seats in the 100-member Senate next year and as many as 56 depending on final results in Alaska and Mississippi — where contests remain narrow with votes still outstanding.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is likely to return as majority leader next year, promised in an interview with the AP that Democrats will prevent the Republican president from installing a “right-winger” on the Supreme Court or “crappy nominees” elsewhere in the federal judiciary or in Trump’s Cabinet.