Trump names Miller chief of staff after midterms rout

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller, architect of his hardline immigration policy, as his new chief of staff, signalling a bare-knuckle fightback after Republicans were hammered in the midterms. Ultra-loyalist Miller, 41, will replace Susie Wiles, who becomes the first major White House casualty from the Democratic landslide earlier this week.
Democrats pledged they would fight 'every step of the way' against Miller, who became synonymous with scenes of masked immigration agents committing violence after he backed federal agents who shot and killed two Americans. 'I wanted to make a change,' Trump told reporters at the White House when asked why he named Miller to replace Wiles. 'Sometimes in life you have to make moves.'
Trump's move was particularly startling as he had repeatedly insisted before the midterms that there was 'zero chance' of replacing Wiles. A White House official said that Wiles had resigned on Thursday night. But naming the combative Miller was the clearest possible signal from Trump that the gloves are now off after his brief conciliatory gestures to Democrats in the wake of the Republican midterms collapse. — AFP