Days after Republicans suffered major losses in midterm elections across the country, President Donald Trump is shaking up his White House staff, elevating longtime adviser Stephen Miller to one of the administration’s most powerful posts.
Miller is set to become White House chief of staff Nov. 9, replacing Susie Wiles. A key architect of Trump’s immigration agenda and one of his longest-serving advisers, Miller has helped shape some of the president’s most hard-line policies, from mass deportations to restrictions on immigration.
Trump announced the change in a Truth Social post Nov. 6 calling Miller “one of my trusted advisors.” He praised Wiles for doing “an outstanding job” and thanked her for her work over the past two years.
Miller has been a central figure in Trump’s political movement for nearly a decade. His influence has also made him a frequent target of criticism, particularly over his views on immigration and race. In 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that leaked emails Miller sent to a former Breitbart editor promoted material associated with white nationalist ideology.
Miller, who is Jewish and the grandson of immigrants, has rejected accusations that he is a white nationalist.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s incoming chief of staff.
Stephen Miller’s early political career
Born in 1985 in Santa Monica, California, Miller graduated from Duke University in 2007.
He began his political career that year, working as press secretary for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann before taking a similar role with Arizona Rep. John Shadegg.
Miller joined the office of then-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2009 as press secretary and became communications director in 2014, according to Politico.
While working for Sessions, Miller helped lead opposition to the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, a bipartisan immigration overhaul that passed the Senate but stalled in the House.
Executive assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump Natalie Harp and White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller return to the White House on October 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.
An early Trump ally
Miller joined Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as a senior policy adviser in January 2016 and quickly became an influential voice on immigration.
At the urging of Steve Bannon, Miller began writing speeches for Trump, according to The New Yorker, and helped write Trump’s acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Politico described Miller during the campaign as an “instrumental adviser” to Trump on immigration. Miller later helped write Trump’s 2017 inaugural address.
An architect of Trump’s immigration agenda
During Trump’s first term, Miller helped develop some of the administration’s most controversial immigration measures.
Working alongside Bannon, Miller helped craft early executive actions, including the travel restrictions targeting several predominantly Muslim countries that became widely known as the “Muslim travel ban.”
Miller was also a leading advocate of the administration’s family separation policy at the southern border and was instrumental in pushing for its implementation, according to The New York Times.
His influence grew further after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Miller became a driving force behind the administration’s second-term immigration crackdown, including its push to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport people the administration accused of belonging to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Invoking the centuries-old law allowed the administration to seek deportations outside the traditional immigration-court process, a move that triggered extensive legal challenges.
Who is Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller?
Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, has also held several prominent roles in Republican politics and within Trump’s orbit.
She served as press secretary to then-Vice President Mike Pence from October 2019 to May 2020. Before joining Pence’s office, she was communications director for former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally.
More recently, Katie Miller served as a spokesperson for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In August, she launched “The Katie Miller Podcast,” a show aimed at Republican women.
Stephen, 41, and Katie, 35, married in February 2020. They have four children: daughter Mackenzie; sons Jackson, Hudson and Hawthorne, born June 3, according to People.
USA TODAY’s Lauren Villagran contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet Stephen Miller, Trump’s new chief of staff and longtime adviser
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