After President Donald Trump fired Susie Wiles and promoted Stephen Miller to the post of chief of staff, POLITICO reported on the behind-the-scenes that included a lot of apparent lobbying from his wife, Katie Miller. Katie told contacts to call Trump on Stephen’s behalf if they believed he was a better choice than other potential successors to Susie Wiles, the report claimed.Among the names Trump privately discussed over the past month were Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, special envoy Steve Witkoff, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and New York Yankees president Randy Levine. Lee Zeldin and Sergio Gor were also considered. The names have been doing the rounds for quite some time. President Trump initially denied the rumors and said the speculation was 100% false. But Katie continued lobbying.Katie worked at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration and served on the White House coronavirus task force. During his second term, she worked with Elon Musk on the Department of Government Efficiency initiative before launching a podcast that featured senior administration officials.Her campaign to secure the position for her husband gained momentum after the midterm elections. She made around half a dozen calls to people close to Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several individuals connected to Vice President JD Vance, the POLITICO report said.While the report mentioned that Katie declined to comment, Katie posted her comment on X referring to the article and stated that it was just a wife supporting her husband. And if people don’t have that, they should get a new wife.“BREAKING: Wife supports husband. If your wife doesn’t do this, find a new one,” Katie posted, sharing the POLITICO article.
‘If Wiles were to leave…’
Katie sent out a message that if Susie Wiles were to leave, it would have to be Stephen Miller for the job. Stephen was the deputy chief of staff and the mind behind Trump’s (anti-) immigration policies. People familiar with her outreach said Katie had never advocated for Wiles’ removal. They added that her latest round of calls this week came only after it became clear that Trump was ready to appoint a new chief of staff.“He started telling people he was done with Susie,” the person with direct knowledge said, referring to Trump’s reaction after the election. “This is what happens when you get creamed.”Trump’s final round of calls was after Election DayFrustration with Wiles in sections of the White House had been building throughout the midterm campaign. However, the Republicans’ unexpectedly humiliating defeat on Tuesday night appeared to seal her fate.Trump called several allies in the days following the election, expressing anger over some of his top advisers, including Wiles and her allies, according to two people close to the White House. “There was just no saving Susie. She knew that,” one of them said.Wiles, who recently underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer, had herself been considering leaving after the midterms, according to two other people close to the White House.“She loves the job — it’s the job of a lifetime, but you have no life,” one of them said. “She’s sick of like — having drinks and then going back to work.”Katie had begun receiving calls from people within the White House and Trump’s allies as early as October, asking about the possibility of Wiles leaving. During those conversations, she suggested that they support Stephen as a potential replacement.