For all that has changed in American politics this week and during the Trump era generally, some things remain true: a classic Friday afternoon news dump from the White House.
The news that Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, will be replaced by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is the most consequential fallout yet from the midterm elections, which not only saw the Republican majorities in Congress swept aside but possibly Trumpism itself.
Even so, Trump has two more years remaining in his term. And because of that, there were questions about how those next two years would go. With this move on Friday, we got Trump’s early response.
Here are three things it means.
There will be no Trump pivot, just like there was never going to be a Trump pivot
Imagine this scenario: Trump is a transactional politician and human. Ideology has always taken a back seat. He can run for president slamming China and then court the communist dictator looking to make deals. He can encourage White nationalists on the presidential debate stage and also lobby for and sign criminal justice reform. He can even agree with Bernie Sanders on a number of populist issues, including a critique of Kamala Harris’s corporate backers and the government being a part owner in Intel, a private company.
It’s not impossible to think that a president like this, particularly one in legacy mode as Trump has been for months, would try to find a way to put his name on bills that the populist MAGA base and the populist left would celebrate.
After all, wasn’t the entire point of the Jared Kushner meeting with likely incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries in September? To find some common things Trump and Democrats could do together?
But, no. By picking Miller, Trump has double-, triple-, and quadrupled-down by making the most important staffer the one who might be the most ardent MAGA supporter still left.
Jeffries quickly weighed in on the chief of staff news this way,“Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands. His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor.”
“Fire him today.”
So much for that.
Gear up for endless stories of infighting in the White House
During Trump’s second term, it has been increasingly noted, including in the book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, that Miller not only leads the White House policy agenda but will walk into a meeting, perhaps even outside his lane, and say he speaks for the president. Since everyone believes he does, he does.
That combative, grievance-filled role actually worked in enacting a bold agenda (see: ICE raids) while Trump was out “weaving” on a stage somewhere. Wiles was the figure who could deftly keep people in line and create a White House with far less drama than during his first term.
She is now out, Miller is in, and everyone inside is watching their backs for signs they might be the next to get ousted. It is only logical that cabinet members and high-profile staffers will test Miller’s management skills. The guy hasn’t managed a business, a Senate office, or even a statewide campaign.
Given all of the congressional investigations we are likely to see, it is going to be cover-your-butt central at the White House, and Miller doesn’t exactly have the demeanor or experience to guide the administration through it all.
JD Vance’s presidential prospects got even worse
You know who all of this chaos really isn’t good for? Vice President JD Vance.
He spent 2025 trying to unite the already testy MAGA coalition behind himself. He even got involved in the podcaster wars between Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro, basically saying everyone should chill out and that everyone is on the same team. If there isn’t a fractured party, he waltzes in as the 2028 Republican Party leading a united party.
After this election, and during the coming year as presidential primary season approaches, that’s going to be a fool’s errand. Already, everyone wants to define the future of the Republican Party, from Mike Pence, who will be in Boston next week, to former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to Steve Bannon.
But it’s the near future of Trumpism that will continue to define Vance, and with Miller running the show inside the White House, that outlook is increasingly bleak.
James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.