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US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his deputy chief of staff and architect of his administration’s strict immigration policy, Stephen Miller, will become his new chief of staff.
Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who had been in the post since Trump’s inauguration. With the nod, Miller becomes the top aide to the president.
Trump announced the move, saying Miller was “one of my most trusted advisors,” adding that Wiles has done an outstanding job, and would be “moving over” to the “Trump political operation.”
Wiles also commented on her exit from the White House, saying that her work there was “the honor of a lifetime.”
She said she was proud of what the administration had accomplished during her tenure, including “securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First.”
The move comes after Trump’s Republican Party lost control of the House and Senate after a midterm election rout at the hands of Democrats.
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One of Trump’s longest-serving aides
Miller’s appointment is a signal that Trump intends to continue on with his hardline immigration policies, despite losing control of the House and Senate to Democrats.
The 41-year-old is one of Trump’s longest-serving advisers, having joined Trump’s longshot 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter.
Although his portfolio as Deputy Chief of Staff was wide-ranging, Miller is most responsible for Trump’s policies and rhetoric on immigration.
Miller is of the administration’s most vocal advocates, frequently making media appearances to defend policies, no matter how controversial they may be. The young aid has never held back in articulating Trump’s worldview.
In particular, Miller has defended Trump’s aggressive foreign policy towards Venezuela earlier this year, when the Pentagon embarked on striking boats in the Caribbean Sea that they said were carrying drugs and later carried out a military operation to snatch Nicolas Maduro.
“We live in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time,” Miller told broadcaster CNN’s host Jake Tapper.
Miller also has not held back on attacking the administration’s opponents. During the midterm campaign, Miller called Democrats “extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics” on social media. He also promoted claims about election fraud in California and Alaska, which were not substantiated.
