Dhillon resigned from justice department civil rights division one day earlier
President Donald Trump said on Friday that Susie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, will leave her post, a major shake-up of his inner circle that comes amid a string of high-profile resignations and dismissals of senior female officials from his administration. Wiles’s departure leaves behind an overwhelmingly male leadership team. Trump announced her ouster, and her replacement by Stephen Miller, in a post on Truth Social days after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.
“I wanted to make a change,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “I think Susie’s done a very good job … Stephen’s been great and we’ve got to make moves.”
Wiles reportedly handed in her resignation on Thursday night. She said her role as chief of staff “has been the honor of a lifetime,” adding: “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.”
Wiles’s exit follows a string of high-profile resignations and dismissals of women in the Trump administration. In recent months, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was ousted just five days after taking up the role, while former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem and former attorney general Pam Bondi were also dismissed. Former national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard reportedly resigned under pressure, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former US ambassador to Greece, has also departed her post.
As high-ranking women left the administration, Wiles, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, remained in her role. Trump said at one point: “She’s going to be here for a long time.” Wiles announced in September that she was cancer-free.
Trump’s announcement came one day after Harmeet Dhillon resigned as head of the justice department’s civil rights division, another high-profile woman’s departure from the administration. Dhillon resigned amid expectations that Democrats will use their majority in Congress to investigate federal agencies under Trump, including the justice department, which has repeatedly been accused of being weaponized by the administration to pursue Trump’s own political enemies.
Other justice department officials have also resigned amid the post-midterm personnel shakeup, including John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for national security, and Jason Reding Quiñones, a key attorney who led inquiries into Trump’s rivals.
Only a handful of women remain in Trump’s cabinet, including agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins and Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration. Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old political aide, remains a frequent presence at the president’s side at public events. Harp has previously written letters to Trump in which she described him as “my guardian and protector.”