President Donald Trump said on Friday that Susie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, is leaving her position, a sweeping change to his inner circle that comes as senior female officials continue to depart his administration.
The president revealed the dismissal, and the appointment of immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as her successor, in a post on Truth Social. The move came days after a blue wave in the midterm elections handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, and it leaves the White House with a leadership team that is overwhelmingly male.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said: "I wanted to make a change. I think Susie's done a very good job .. Stephen's been great and we've got to make moves."
Wiles, who according to reports submitted her resignation on Thursday night, said in a statement that serving as chief of staff "has been the honor of a lifetime." She added: "I'm so proud to have been a part of what we've accomplished together, from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America first."
Her departure is the latest in a series of high-profile resignations and firings involving women in the Trump administration. In recent months, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was pushed out only five days into the job, while former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem and former attorney general Pam Bondi were also dismissed. Tulsi Gabbard, the former director of national intelligence, reportedly resigned under pressure, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former US ambassador to Greece, has also left her post.
Wiles had remained in place even as other senior women exited, continuing to work after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Trump at one point insisted: "She's going to be here for a long time." Wiles announced in September that she was cancer-free.
Just a day before the announcement about Wiles, Harmeet Dhillon, a staunch Trump ally who led the justice department's civil rights division and was a controversial figure in that role, also resigned. Her departure came amid expectations that Democrats will use their new congressional majority to investigate federal agencies, including a justice department that has repeatedly faced accusations of being weaponized against Trump's political opponents.
Other justice department officials have resigned as part of the post-midterm personnel shake-up, among them John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for national security, and Jason Reding Quiñones, a key attorney who led inquiries into Trump's rivals.
Only a small number of women remain in Trump's cabinet, including agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins and Kelly Loeffler, who heads the Small Business Administration. Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old political aide who once wrote letters describing the president as "my guardian and protector," remains a frequent presence at his side during public events.
