Donald Trump headed to Florida without Susie Wiles.
Within 72 hours, the woman who had been regarded as the most influential figure in Trump’s Washington saw the political operation she had built over four years unravel.
Wiles, 69, had been the final adviser Trump, 80, consulted before making major decisions. That arrangement ended after three days of mounting tension, culminating in a confrontation witnessed by members of his staff.
On Thursday afternoon, Wiles left the Oval Office while Trump was reportedly still shouting at her.
Four people familiar with the dispute told Our News Outlet that Trump confronted his chief of staff in front of other aides, blaming her for the Republicans’ devastating midterm performance. She resigned later that night, and Stephen Miller is due to assume the role on Monday.
Wiles had been privately considering a departure after the midterms, as Our News Outlet first reported over the summer. Two sources said she asked to remain until February, but Trump rejected the request.
‘He completely exploded at her,’ said one source close to the president.
A White House source said Trump continued berating Wiles over the election losses until she left the room. Two others described the encounter more forcefully, saying he ordered her out of the meeting.
‘He told her to leave,’ said another person familiar with the exchange.
Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino was present, along with Morgan Dewitt-Snow, a close ally of Wiles who oversees the White House personnel office.
Dewitt-Snow appeared shaken afterward, according to one source. Rather than return to her desk, she joined Wiles elsewhere in the West Wing.
Donald Trump screamed at Susie Wiles over the midterm defeat on Thursday (pictured: Trump in the Oval Office on October 20)
Wiles left the office as Trump was still yelling at her (pictured: Wiles in the Oval Office)
Stephen Miller left with a broad grin on Friday as he headed to Florida with Trump aide Natalie Harp
A White House official disputed the account, insisting that Trump did not raise his voice at Wiles. ‘He would never yell at Susie,’ the official said.
Two nights earlier, Trump had watched Democrats take control of both the House and Senate from his private residence. He reportedly said little, with Wiles beside him as donors and senior White House officials began assigning blame to her by name.
One source said Wiles had been warned that dismissal was imminent. She met with Trump on Thursday evening and resigned before he could fire her.
A White House official said Trump did not immediately accept her resignation.
Trump told her they would discuss the matter later, but by Friday morning he still had not given her an answer. Wiles returned to the Oval Office and told him the decision had to be finalized.
She had requested a transition period lasting until February. Trump was unwilling to wait that long, two sources said, making Friday her final day.
‘She’s exhausted,’ the White House official said. ‘She didn’t want to continue the fight.’
A source close to Trump dismissed that explanation as a blatant falsehood, pointing to an event Wiles had arranged for the weekend.
Wiles had scheduled a Saturday retreat at Camp David, despite Trump being in Florida. The gathering was expected to include White House officials and aides considered loyal to her.
Two sources said the event was intended to map out how Wiles could weather the political crisis and remain in power. It was first postponed and has since been canceled.
Sources also said Wiles had been working to shift responsibility for the election debacle onto Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In the days following Tuesday night’s losses, her allies reportedly sought to portray Hegseth as the public explanation for the Republicans’ poor showing. They focused on his role in directing the Iran war, which has contributed to rising living costs, three sources told Our News Outlet.
Morgan DeWitt-Snow is the de facto head of the Presidential Personnel Office
Trump aide Natalie Harp, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and new White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller leaving for Florida on Friday
Trump acknowledged that the conflict had hurt the GOP and contributed to what he called a ‘bluenami.’ He said voters had been unwilling to accept the short-term impact of paying more for gasoline.
‘Susie was trying to push Pete out’ to redirect blame for the midterm collapse, a senior Pentagon official said.
In recent days, however, several close advisers reportedly told Trump that members of Wiles’s team were leaking information about Hegseth to the press in an effort to protect her, according to a source close to the president.
‘Eventually, enough people spoke to him that he became extremely angry,’ the source said.
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A series of reports appeared after the midterms describing Trump’s alleged frustration with Hegseth, as the president sought advice from trusted advisers about whether to dismiss him.
A former Trump official offered an even harsher assessment: ‘Susie Wiles is a leaker, she’s a huge f***ing leaker,’ he said.
Her opponents also criticized the financial results of Wiles’s political operation. The group spent nearly half a billion dollars yet lost control of both chambers of Congress, according to a senior Trump administration official.
Wiles had also projected confidence before the vote. One source said she was still telling people directly, as recently as six weeks before Election Day, that Republicans would win the midterms.
Outgoing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino wait as Marine One lands on the south lawn of the White House
Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller at the Pentagon
By Friday afternoon, news of Wiles’s departure was being celebrated just blocks from the White House.
A former Trump official now working for a downtown Washington lobbying firm said colleagues were celebrating across the office. ‘And I will keep celebrating all weekend,’ the person said.
‘I think everyone was tired of the chaos, the self-serving behavior, the self-dealing and the corruption that we had all witnessed.’
Wiles’s supporters offered a sharply different assessment.
‘Many people care deeply about her, while many others strongly dislike her,’ a senior Trump administration official said. ‘Those who dislike her are often the people who want to do reckless things and escape the consequences.’
The official said Wiles controlled what information reached Trump, a gatekeeping role that angered her opponents. She had worked alongside Trump since 2016 and served as chief of staff for the past two years, after helping engineer his 2024 return to the White House by winning all seven battleground states.
Our News Outlet has sought comment from the White House, the Pentagon and representatives for Wiles.
Trump announced Wiles’s successor on Truth Social on Friday.
Miller, 41, who served as Wiles’s deputy and helped shape the administration’s aggressive immigration agenda, will take over Monday. Trump wrote that Wiles ‘has done an outstanding job’ and would move into a role with the Trump Political Operation.
Shortly afterward, Wiles confirmed that Friday had been her last day. ‘Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honor of a lifetime,’ she wrote.
A former Trump official said support for Miller’s appointment depends on a broader shake-up inside the White House. The source predicted that the administration’s troubles would continue if Wiles’s allies remained in place.
‘It’s like pulling weeds,’ the former official said. ‘Remove one, and ten more appear.’
When asked what had finally prompted Trump’s fury toward the adviser he once trusted above nearly everyone else, the former official cited the recent leaks and the president’s constant online activity.
‘He’s online almost constantly,’ the source said. ‘My assumption is that he saw things that convinced him changes were necessary.’
JD Vance and Marco Rubio with Trump in the Oval Office
Wiles had reportedly argued for a more limited deportation policy, with removals focused on people convicted of violent crimes or wanted in connection with such offenses, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
She told colleagues that the administration’s mass deportation campaign was costing Republicans support. On Friday, Trump gave her position to the official who helped design that campaign.
‘I don’t know if anyone is further to the right of Stephen Miller on immigration,’ a State Department official said. ‘The people carrying out the deportations will be pleased.’
The official rejected suggestions that Miller would enter the job aligned with another faction. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also serving as national security adviser, while Miller is homeland security adviser, and the two work closely together.
Still, the official added: ‘I wouldn’t describe Stephen as a Marco or JD [Vance] person. I think he operates independently. I don’t know that he has a formal alliance; his focus is serving the president.’
National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, hardliner Bill Pulte and Ambassador to India Sergio Gor were among those considered for the post. Pulte is one of Trump’s closest aides, while Gor had made clear he was available for the position.
Trump ultimately chose Miller, his longest-serving adviser, who has been with him since the 2016 campaign. Miller had also pledged to help bring the Iran war to an end.
‘I think Susie has done a very good job, a great job,’ the president told reporters at the White House on Friday.
On the South Lawn, a reporter asked Trump how it felt to lose the election. He turned away and walked toward the helicopter waiting to take him to Florida.
Rubio, close adviser Natalie Harp and Miller boarded with him. Wiles was absent.
