Trump Names Jewish Adviser Stephen Miller as White House Chief of Staff, Replacing Susie Wiles
A major shakeup inside the Trump White House has placed one of the president’s longest-serving and most influential advisers in a powerful new position.
President Donald Trump has reportedly selected Stephen Miller, 41, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, following Republican setbacks in the November midterm elections.
Wiles, who made history as the first woman to hold the position, announced her departure in a farewell message describing her service to Trump as the honor of a lifetime.
“While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will,” she wrote.
Miller, currently serving as deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, has spent nearly a decade helping shape Trump’s political agenda, particularly on immigration, border security and national sovereignty.
From Hebrew School to the White House
Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1985, Miller was raised in a Jewish family whose American roots trace back to relatives escaping antisemitic persecution in Eastern Europe.
His maternal great-grandfather, Wolf-Leib Glosser, arrived in the United States in 1903 after fleeing the violence and instability that threatened Jewish communities in the Russian Empire.
Growing up in California, Miller attended Hebrew school at Beth Shir Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Santa Monica.
His Jewish heritage has occasionally become part of the national debate surrounding his immigration policies. Some relatives and Jewish religious leaders have publicly challenged his positions, arguing that his family’s refugee history offers a different perspective on America’s obligations toward immigrants.
Miller has nevertheless remained firmly committed to the immigration policies that helped establish him as a prominent figure in Trump’s political movement.
A Political Career Built Alongside Trump
After graduating from Duke University in 2007, Miller worked for Republican lawmakers, including Senator Jeff Sessions, before joining Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016.
He quickly became a key adviser, helping draft speeches and develop policies that would define Trump’s first administration.
Following Trump’s departure from office in 2021, Miller founded America First Legal, a conservative legal organization that challenged numerous Biden administration initiatives.
He returned to the White House in January 2025, assuming a senior position overseeing policy and homeland security priorities.
Miller married Katie Waldman, who is also Jewish, in February 2020 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Their wedding was officiated by Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, a former senior adviser to then-U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. President Trump attended the ceremony.
The couple has three children.
A New Chapter for the Trump Presidency
As chief of staff, Miller would move beyond his existing policy responsibilities to oversee the daily operations of the White House, coordinate senior administration officials and help manage the president’s legislative agenda.
His appointment would also come at a politically sensitive moment, with Trump confronting a changed congressional landscape following the midterm elections.
For Miller, whose political career has been closely intertwined with Trump’s rise to power, the position represents a significant expansion of his responsibilities and influence.
For the White House, it marks a transition from Wiles’ campaign-management background to an adviser whose reputation has been built largely on policy development and ideological consistency.
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