US President Donald Trump on Friday named Stephen Miller, architect of his hardline immigration policy, as his new chief of staff, signalling a bare-knuckle fightback after the Republicans’ midterm hammering.
Ultra-loyalist Miller, 41, will replace Susie Wiles, who becomes the first major White House casualty from the Democratic landslide earlier this week.
Democrats pledged they would fight “every step of the way” against Miller, who became synonymous with scenes of masked immigration agents and violent confrontations in which federal agents shot dead two Americans.
“I wanted to make a change,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked why he had named Miller to replace Wiles.
“Sometimes in life you have to make moves.”
Trump’s move was particularly startling as he had repeatedly insisted before the midterms that there was “zero chance” of replacing Wiles.
A White House official told AFP that Wiles had resigned on Thursday night.
But naming the combative Miller was the clearest possible signal from Trump that the gloves are now off after his brief conciliatory gestures to Democrats in the wake of the Republican midterms collapse.
Known for his sharp suits and sunglasses, Miller has been one of Trump’s closest aides for decades, pushing nativist policies that gelled with Trump’s “America First” agenda.
As Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor, he was the brains behind the mass deportation program that defined the first year of the president’s second term.
But he faced widespread criticism after the deadly shootings of two protesters by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January — incidents that sparked mass demonstrations.
“Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration. Trump couldn’t have made a worse choice,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X.
“Our Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way,”
