Stephen Miller Urged Trump to Wind Down Iran War in Pitch for Chief of Staff Job: Report

Stephen Miller told President Donald Trump he needed to wind down the war with Iran as part of his pitch to become White House chief of staff, according to The New York Times.

Times reporter Maggie Haberman wrote Friday in the paper’s live coverage of the White House shakeup that Miller’s argument, according to people who heard it, was that the president needed to bring the conflict to a close. Haberman noted that Trump’s core supporters viewed the war as a betrayal.

Trump announced on Truth Social earlier in the day that Miller, his deputy chief of staff, will replace Susie Wiles starting Monday. Wiles is moving to the president’s political operation after offering her resignation in the wake of Tuesday’s midterm losses.

Haberman also said the Times had contacted the White House for comment on a story reporting that Trump had told many people he planned to replace Wiles and that Miller was the likely successor, before the president made the announcement himself.

The reported pitch marks a notable shift for Miller, who has been one of the war’s most vocal defenders. After the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Miller went on Fox News’ “Hannity” and praised a military he said was no longer fighting with its hands tied behind its back. In a later appearance, he said the U.S. could sustain its economic squeeze on Iran indefinitely if Tehran chose the wrong path.

Before the war, Miller had promoted Trump as the candidate of peace, posting “Trump = Peace” and pointing to Trump’s past warnings about neoconservatives eager to send Americans to fight wars.

The war has become a political flashpoint. Vice President JD Vance blamed it for the GOP’s loss of both the House and Senate in a lengthy post on X on Wednesday. Some Republicans have also pointed the finger at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his handling of the conflict. Hegseth, for his part, welcomed Miller’s promotion on X, saying Miller never backs down.

Axios reported that Wiles had opposed both the Iran war and the intensity of immigration enforcement, the same decisions that fueled the midterm losses and ultimately cost her the president’s confidence.

Trump, however, has shown no sign of retreating. He has continued to stress that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and on Friday he wrote on Truth Social that Israel and the entire Middle East would not exist if he had not stopped Iran from getting one.

The administration is weighing whether to resume military strikes while reviewing a new Iranian proposal on its nuclear program. Trump met with his national security team Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the issue and told reporters the U.S. is “locked and loaded” if it needs to act.

Tehran has said further talks depend on Washington meeting seven demands, including compensation for war damages, an end to sanctions and the U.S. naval blockade, and the release of frozen assets.

Miller will officially take over as chief of staff on Nov. 9.