President Trump on Friday named Stephen Miller, his longtime aide, as White House chief of staff, Reuters reported, three days after Republicans lost control of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections. Miller, 41, replaces Susie Wiles. Trump said the change takes effect Monday, Nov. 9.

The appointment lands as the outgoing Congress returns to a short list of money deadlines. Government funding runs out Dec. 11, and the annual defense authorization, the Pentagon policy bill, expires Dec. 31, MS NOW reported on Nov. 4. Democrats take control of both chambers in January.

A new chief, the same course

Trump called Miller "one of my most trusted advisors" and said Wiles had done "an outstanding job." Wiles, 69, submitted her resignation Thursday night and will move to Trump's political operation, a White House official said. She was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.

Miller has been deputy chief of staff since 2025. He is best known for driving the administration's immigration crackdown, including a goal of 3,000 arrests a day. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed early in the week found that 36 percent of respondents approved of the crackdown and 54 percent disapproved.

"He's not changing course," a White House official said. Miller wrote on X: "The mission now is more clear than ever."

Democrats answered quickly. Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become speaker of the House, called Miller a "reckless extremist" on X. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the party planned to investigate Miller's immigration policies.

Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to then-Vice President Mike Pence, said of the choice: "It would not suggest that there is high expectation for bipartisan legislation."

Turnover at the top of the West Wing is not new for this president. Trump went through four chiefs of staff in his 2017-2021 term, Reuters noted. In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," he said of his Cabinet, "I think they're good. But I'll do — be doin' maybe a few changes," the AP reported.

Reuters said voters punished Republicans in part for the economic fallout from the Iran war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces Democratic calls for impeachment over the war. A handful of Senate and House races were still to be called by the AP as of Friday, according to its live coverage.

The December calendar

The lame-duck session has two fixed dates. If Congress does not act by Dec. 11, government funding lapses. If it does not act by Dec. 31, the defense authorization expires. Republicans will need Democratic support in December to avert a shutdown, MS NOW reported.

Investors are waiting to see how a divided government handles spending on the Iran war, CNBC reported on Friday, a fight that could produce a government shutdown before the year is out.

Republicans have also discussed using the lame-duck weeks for one more partisan reconciliation bill, according to MS NOW. Items mentioned include Iran war funding, an increase in the debt limit, voting restrictions, crypto measures and hemp policy. Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pushed an outline over the summer for up to $150 billion in spending. It never became a bill.

The debt limit

Including a debt ceiling increase in a partisan reconciliation bill would let Republicans avoid negotiating with Democrats when the government reaches the limit, according to MS NOW. That could happen sometime between late winter and mid-summer next year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

"Debt limit's a next year thing," said Sen. Thom Tillis.

If Republicans need Democratic votes to raise it, Democrats would likely seek concessions. Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, named fixing the Social Security solvency cliff among the things he would like.

Miller takes over on Monday. Congress has until Dec. 11 to keep the government open.