President Trump and Stephen Miller
Introduction – Nov 7, 2026
In the immediate aftermath of the midterms we wrote that “wouldn’t be surprised if the Trump presidency takes on a much more authoritarian, dictatorial demeanour, in the months ahead”.
The first signs of this have just been confirmed with the promotion of former Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller.
Descended from a family of Russian Jewish ancestry, Miller has also been described as an “immigration hardliner” and, to his credit, “a vaccine sceptic”. He was also one of the main advocates for the U.S. war with Iran.
Internal US politics aside, we would suggest that Miller’s promotion means that Trump is not about to give up trying to force regime change in Iran.
Stephen Miller’s promotion shows the White House is ready for war
Connor Stringer – The Telegraph Nov 7, 2026
Donald Trump is building a war bunker.
The president’s decision to appoint Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff following Susie Wiles’s departure says everything about how he will approach his final two years as a lame duck.
Mr Miller’s elevation on Friday came days after American voters delivered a stunning rebuke to the US president’s approach to his second term and handed Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Rather than interpreting the political hammering as reason to moderate his agenda by softening his immigration stance and ending the war in Iran, Mr Trump has promoted one of its architects.
The White House is being reorganised for a siege. And the US president has chosen one of his most uncompromising loyalists to run the bunker.
“Miller is a hammer – and we need a hammer now,” Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist and architect of Maga, told The Telegraph.
Mr Miller is no ordinary political adviser. He has been by Mr Trump’s side since the 2016 presidential campaign and has spent his time masterminding some of the most extreme immigration policies in US history.
These included Muslim-majority country travel bans, a wall on the southern border and deep cuts to refugee admissions. Critics compared these approaches to authoritarianism.
But these policies are a core part of the America First agenda that Mr Trump swept to power on but has appeared to drift away from in his second term, costing him dearly at the polls on Tuesday.
Until now, Mr Miller has been the deputy chief of staff, and his influence has paled in comparison to that of Ms Wiles.
As chief of staff, Mr Miller will no longer simply be helping to come up with Mr Trump’s agenda. He will be the man in charge of shaping the White House around it.
So, what can we expect? For starters, Mr Miller is an ideological enforcer and one of the president’s most aggressive policy defenders.
He is also an enthusiastic defender of the Iran war, which has threatened to split the Maga movement since the first strikes on Feb 28.
Mr Miller will prove particularly useful in the hostile landscape that Mr Trump will face during the next two years.
Democrats have pledged to investigate Mr Trump, his allies and his administration over financial and business dealings. Officials are nervous.
The party’s incoming control of Congress also means the president’s immigration crackdown, the Iran war and his other domestic policies are at risk, with no way to pass legislation without a deal with the Democrats.
The president does have the power to veto bills brought by the opposition, and is expected to use it liberally.
Mr Miller has been preparing to put the White House on a war footing. Alongside Will Scharf, the White House counsel, the two have spent months drafting a plan that would let Mr Trump govern without congressional approval.
The US president will need officials who can withstand the intense scrutiny that comes with congressional investigations, subpoenas and lawsuits. Mr Miller is that man.
His appointment also carries implications for the administration’s foreign policy. Maga has been crying out for a return to America First values, including the end of the war in Iran.
He has been an outspoken defender of the conflict, which has driven energy prices through the roof and threatened a global recession.
It would be premature to predict that his appointment alone is proof Mr Trump will carry out more strikes and return to war.
But news of his new role will at the very least ease the nerves of cabinet members who looked set to be dismissed in the coming days, including Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary.
“Patriots in control,” Mr Hegseth wrote after Ms Wiles’s departure was announced, in an X post that was almost an audible sigh of relief.
The midterms changed the balance of power.
Mr Trump is building his battalion as he prepares for two years of political warfare.