GOP Civil War Erupts Over Trump Pick

A Republican senator just called his own president’s new chief of staff pick “the worst of all possible choices” on live television, days after the GOP suffered historic midterm losses.

Quick Take

President Trump named Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff on November 6, replacing Susie Wiles just days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterms.
Senator Thom Tillis told CNN the pick was “a colossal mistake” and tied it to Republican losses among Hispanic voters over immigration enforcement.
The White House defends Miller as one of Trump’s “most trusted advisers,” crediting him with driving down crime and securing the border.
Democratic leaders, including incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, also blasted the choice, showing criticism spans both parties.
The shakeup fits a long pattern of fast staff turnover inside Trump’s White House, though experts debate what that turnover actually means.

Trump Picks Miller Days After Midterm Losses

President Trump announced Friday that Stephen Miller would replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, starting the following Monday. Wiles had resigned a day earlier. The move came just three days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections, marking the first major staffing change of the post-election fallout.

Senator Tillis Calls Pick A “Colossal Mistake”

Senator Thom Tillis did not hold back. Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper what he thought of Trump’s choice, Tillis called Miller “the worst of all possible choices” and “a colossal mistake”. Tillis has argued that immigration crackdowns tied to Miller’s work helped drive down Republican support among Hispanic voters, a group the party had been gaining before this year’s election.

Tillis’s comments stand out because they came from inside his own party, not from Democrats. Public opinion data shows Hispanic voters shifted toward Republicans between 2020 and 2024, but polling ahead of the 2026 midterms found Democratic congressional candidates leading among Latino voters again, with immigration enforcement cited as a key factor driving that shift back.

White House Pushes Back With Praise For Miller

The White House rejected the criticism outright. In its official announcement, it said Miller “has served alongside President Trump from the very beginning” and brings “deep experience, broad institutional knowledge, and unwavering commitment to the role”. Trump himself called Miller “one of my most trusted advisers,” crediting him with helping drive violent crime to historic lows and securing the border.

Miller joined Trump’s 2016 campaign as a speechwriter and later became a senior adviser, most recently serving as deputy chief of staff with a wide portfolio covering policy and homeland security. Supporters point to his relationships with cabinet officials like the attorney general, commerce secretary, and defense secretary as proof he can coordinate across the administration smoothly.

Criticism Crosses Party Lines

Tillis was not alone in his alarm. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat set to become the next House speaker, also criticized Miller sharply after the announcement. That overlap between a sitting Republican senator and the incoming Democratic House speaker shows the concern is not strictly partisan. Both sides question whether doubling down on a polarizing immigration hardliner helps the party govern with a divided Congress.

Susie Wiles out, Stephen Miller in, as Trump’s chief of staff

WASHINGTON—President Trump said on Friday that longtime adviser Stephen Miller would become his chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles after Republicans suffered far-reaching losses in this week’s midterm election.

In… pic.twitter.com/rx2Fh4eZ93

— American Politic (@rosewdc) November 6, 2026

A Pattern Of Rapid Staff Turnover

This is not the first time Trump’s White House has seen fast personnel change. Research tracking more than 50 years of presidential staffing found Trump’s turnover and recruitment patterns broke from earlier presidents. A Brookings Institution analysis found 83% of Trump’s top-tier staff had left by the end of his second year in his first term, compared with 41% under President Obama at the same point. Whether that turnover reflects strength or dysfunction remains debated among researchers.

The bigger question hanging over this appointment is whether Trump is responding to the midterm defeat by adjusting course or by reinforcing the same approach voters just rejected at the polls. Miller’s record as an immigration hardliner is well documented, and the White House is betting that record helps rather than hurts going into the next two years of divided government.