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

What Happened

United States President Donald Trump appointed his longtime adviser Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff on Friday, according to a Trump post on Truth Social. Miller, 41, will replace Susie Wiles on Monday; Trump called him 'one of my most trusted advisors'. Miller had been serving as deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser since January 2025 and had helped orchestrate the administration's mass deportation drive, telling Fox News in May 2025 that the administration set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 ICE arrests per day. Miller is credited with shaping the 2017 travel ban on citizens of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which was upheld by the US Supreme Court in an adjusted version. Since returning, he has defended the expulsion of visa-holders and permanent residents supportive of Palestinian rights and critical of Israeli government actions in Gaza and the West Bank; the Trump administration argues such views are harmful to US foreign policy.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

Miller's elevation consolidates influence of a figure who has shaped policies with direct foreign-policy effects: the travel ban affecting several Muslim-majority countries and the recent push to expel non-citizens for pro-Palestinian speech, which the administration argues harms US foreign policy. Democratic control of both chambers in January raises oversight pressure over those actions.

Watch For

House and Senate Democrats are expected to launch investigations into Miller's role in the White House after taking control in January. Mahmoud Khalil's lawsuit against Trump administration officials, including Miller, will proceed. ICE arrest targets—Miller said the administration set a minimum of 3,000 arrests daily—will indicate whether deportation policy intensifies under his leadership.