By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump said Friday that Stephen Miller was replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, mere days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections. Miller, long a key member of Trump’s inner circle, is a key architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies. Wiles, a steely political operator and the first woman to serve in the post, was Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff and his longtime adviser.
A handful of remaining Senate and House races still to be called by The Associated Press will determine the strength of Democrats’ majority in Congress. Democrats will hold at least 54 seats in the 100-member Senate next year and as many as 56 depending on final results in Alaska and Mississippi — where contests remain narrow with votes still outstanding.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is likely to return as majority leader next year, promised in an interview with the AP that Democrats will prevent the Republican president from installing a “right-winger” on the Supreme Court or “crappy nominees” elsewhere in the federal judiciary or in Trump’s Cabinet.
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After Democrats flip Texas House, state’s longest-serving Black lawmaker says she has support for speaker
Rep. Senfronia Thompson would be the first Black lawmaker and first woman elevated to Texas House speaker in the state’s history. The 87-year-old Democrat was first elected in 1972.
Democrats won a majority in the state House for the first time since 2002 as part of their sweeping victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The next House speaker will be elected by majority vote of the 150-member chamber next January. Thompson will have to hold together the coalition she claims until then.
US coordinates with Canada to target Iranian digital asset providers
The Treasury Department on Friday targeted several firms exchanging Iranian rials and other currencies for allegedly helping Tehran evade sanctions and fund its proxies.
Some of the providers dealt with Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges already sanctioned by Washington.
The latest targets were coordinated with the Canadian government as several of the individuals and entities named are based in Vancouver and Toronto.
“Anyone, anywhere in the world, who helps Tehran evade sanctions risks being held accountable,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The actions are part of the Trump administration’s economic campaign to cripple the various financial networks that help sustain Iran as the longtime adversaries struggle to find a diplomatic resolution to a more than eight-month long conflict.
Ukraine welcomes more help from Melania Trump in the future
Ukrainian officials have praised first lady Melania Trump for her role in a humanitarian ceasefire in the besieged Ukrainian city of Oleshky and hope for more of her help going forward.
Davyd Arakhamia, head of the parliamentary faction of Zelenskyy’s party, and Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, spoke to reporters in Washington a day after a White House event recognizing the recent six-day truce between Russia and Ukraine in Oleshky.
Lubinets says he thinks of the first lady “as a heavyweight” in negotiations, saying her office was instrumental in getting the Russians to open negotiations.
Asked about a greater role for Melania Trump in talks between Russia and Ukraine, Arakhamia said, “we would appreciate it.” He says he wants to expand the ability to get truces in other parts of the war-torn country.
Ukraine expects to see more support from US after midterms
A Ukrainian official says with Democrats winning control of Congress in the midterm elections, they expect American support to surge next year.
Davyd Arakhamia, head of the parliamentary faction of Zelenskyy’s party, told reporters in Washington that he sees “the chances for us to get better U.S. support” financially and generally is “at least double” with the new Congress.
Arakhamia said he and other Ukrainian officials know newly appointed White House chief of staff Stephen Miller “well” and were broadly optimistic about his new role.
But before the congressional changes, “we have the hardest winter ever,” Arakhamia said.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. He said the country’s supply of missile interceptors is all but depleted.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair says promoting Miller is ‘putting lipstick on a pig’
Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York said Trump’s decision to name Miller the White House chief of staff “is a desperate and irresponsible cry for attention.”
He said Miller has been the architect of Trump’s immigration policies and voters have “rejected mass deportations, the targeting of Latino communities.”
To give Miller “a fancier title is just putting lipstick on a pig,” he said.
‘I wanted to make a change,’ Trump says, explaining chief of staff shakeup
Trump praised both Wiles and Miller to reporters but said it was time for a change.
“Susie has done a very good job. Great job,” Trump said as he left the White House to travel to Florida. But he said, “We’ve got to make moves sometimes.”
Trump said Miller is great.
“He gets it” and is “very good politically. And he’s a very good man. He’ll do a great job, great manager,” Trump said.
House Oversight’s Garcia warns Stephen Miller: ‘Lawyer up’
Rep. Robert Garcia, who is in line to become chairman of the Oversight Committee, said Trump is “doubling down” on the administration policies that voters just rejected in the midterm election.
“Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families,” said Garcia of California.
Garcia said the committee continues to investigate Miller “for his misconduct, and we will fight against his hateful policies in Congress and the courts.”
Wiles is the first woman to ever serve as White House chief of staff
Announcing her departure on social media, Wiles called serving Trump “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First,” she wrote. “More than anything, I’m grateful for the extraordinary people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.
“While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will,” Wiles said.
Wiles steered Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. She has long been seen as a check on some of his most destructive impulses.
Who is Stephen Miller, Trump’s new chief of staff
He’s one of Trump’s most loyal and longest-serving advisers. He came aboard Trump’s longshot 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter and has remained in the president’s orbit.
Miller, 41, currently serves as White House deputy chief of staff and, though his portfolio is wide-ranging, Miller is most closely aligned with Trump’s actions and rhetoric on immigration.
He’s a former Capitol Hill staffer who worked for former Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who was Trump’s first attorney general.
During the midterm campaign, Miller took frequent partisan swipes at Democrats, calling them “extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics” on social media. He also promoted unfounded theories about election fraud in California and Alaska.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy discharged from hospital after stroke
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy says he will be spending several weeks at a rehabilitation center after being discharged from the hospital Friday after suffering a stroke.
Murphy said the doctors are encouraged by the progress he’s made and the time at the rehabilitation center will help him get back to work on the quickest timeline possible. He expects to miss the next several weeks of votes as he continues his recovery.
“I want to be direct with you,” Murphy said in a statement. “So here is my diagnosis. Last Saturday afternoon, I felt something was not right with my body and called 9-1-1 out of an abundance of caution, and I’m glad I did. I was diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of my brain.”
Murphy says he’s staying engaged with his colleagues and staff remotely to ensure the work of his office continues.
Rubio will venture to France for first post-midterm global trip as questions about Trump policies swirl
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to embark on his first post-midterm foreign trip to attend a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in France next week.
He’ll likely face questions about the Trump administration’s policies, namely in Iran, after huge Republican losses in elections that gave Democrats control of Congress.
The State Department said Friday that Rubio would travel to Paris to meet his counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Monday and Tuesday.
The G7 nations will confront a number of unresolved world crises, including the Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. They must also cope with Trump’s often antagonistic approach to allies and concerns that the election results may harden his attitude.
Rubio is often seen as presenting a gentler side to Trump’s belligerence in foreign policy. He may get questions about speculation he might leave the administration to prepare for a 2028 presidential run, which he has adamantly denied.