Trump Elevates Miller as Tillis Calls It a Mistake

President Trump decided Friday to replace outgoing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with top adviser Stephen Miller, whose aggressive immigration enforcement tactics included an operation in Minneapolis where federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called the decision “a colossal mistake” and said Trump “needs to rethink” it.

Miller called the two people killed in Minneapolis domestic terrorists. The operation took place at the start of 2026. Trump’s appointment puts an adviser who architected the enforcement tactics in line for the White House chief of staff role, as the deaths and Miller’s description of the victims remain part of the political dispute.

A White House decision, a public rebuke

Tillis spoke to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, three days after what he called “the a– whooping we got on Tuesday.” He said advisers had given Trump bad advice that he thought “created some of the environment on Tuesday,” but added, “the president made this decision, and the president needs to rethink it.” Tillis called Miller “the worst of all possible choices” for the job.

The replacement marks the first major White House shakeup since Republicans’ rocky midterm performance. As of Friday, Republicans had lost at least seven Senate seats and 42 House seats, with several races still outstanding. Those losses form the political backdrop for Tillis’s criticism. Trump, though, made the staffing decision.

Tillis argued that Republicans had lost control of the border debate. “This past Tuesday, Republicans lost because we lost the narrative on the border, a success that the president should have been heralding,” he said. He described Miller as “one of the most partisan, polarizing figures,” adding that Miller was polarizing “not only in terms of Republicans and Democrats, but even among Republicans.”

Immigration enforcement and the election

Miller’s enforcement tactics contributed to Trump’s approval rating reaching a career low ahead of Election Day and likely affected Republican performance, according to the account. Republican officials are discussing the political cost, and the Minneapolis operation involved the deaths of two U.S. citizens.

Just after election night, Trump reportedly told aides Miller’s immigration campaign had gone too far, The Wall Street Journal reported. Tillis said promoting Miller “doesn’t make sense” if Trump believed immigration had become a political liability. “What was inappropriate is to take a guy who made us lose on the immigration issue,” Tillis said. “So no, he doesn’t get a passing grade for me, even judging on the kind of curve that I made with some people among his advisers.”

The party’s internal power struggle

Tillis has frequently criticized some of Trump’s Cabinet members and other advisers. In March, he said he was “disappointed” in then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s job performance at a hearing. In a viral post in January, he compared Noem and Miller to “sycophants.”

Tillis announced he wouldn’t run for reelection this year. Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.) won the open seat to replace him by nearly 20 points. Democrats flipped five of North Carolina’s congressional seats, with five races still outstanding, according to Decision Desk HQ. Those results sit alongside the broader Republican losses.

The question Tillis raised remains in Trump’s hands. Trump chose Miller for the chief of staff role despite Tillis’s objections and the reported concern about Miller’s immigration campaign.