Stephen Miller Becomes Chief of Staff; Markle Child Abuse Charges

Sam There's a big shake-up at the top of the White House staff, and it came just days after a major national vote. It changes who sits closest to the president for the rest of his term. Maya, what actually happened, and who is in the job now?

Maya President Trump announced on Friday, November 6, that Stephen Miller will become White House chief of staff, starting Monday, November 9. He's replacing Susie Wiles. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Miller, the current deputy chief of staff, is one of his most trusted advisors, and that Wiles will move over to the Trump Political Operation.

Sam Why now, though? A change like that three days after the weekend sounds like it must be tied to something. I'd guess there was some trigger, and I'd like to know what the timing points to.

Maya The trigger people point to is Tuesday, November 3, the midterm elections, where Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. Wiles submitted her resignation Thursday night, November 5, according to people familiar with events who spoke to the Associated Press, CNN, Axios and CBS News.

Sam But did Trump push her out, or did she walk? Those are two different stories, and I'd think the White House would say one thing while people close to it say another.

Maya They do conflict. Axios reported that sources called the departure mutual but driven by the election results, and that Trump blamed Wiles for the scale of the losses without formally demanding her resignation. The Atlantic reported that they met Wednesday, she volunteered to resign, and by Thursday she was telling deputies a letter was ready. Trump told reporters, "Not because of the election. It's just time." He also said, "The election wasn't my election. I wasn't on the ballot." No document settles it.

Sam So the public line and the private accounts simply don't match, and nobody has put anything on paper to resolve it. Let me ask about Wiles herself. What did her time in the job look like?

Maya She was the first woman to hold the job and served from the start of Trump's second term in January 2025. The Associated Press noted she was the longest-serving chief of staff of his presidency; he went through four in his first term. In March 2026 she announced an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and kept working through treatment, and she later said doctors declared her cancer-free in September. On Friday she posted on X that it was her last day, and that her commitment to the president and the mission never changes.

Sam Now the man taking over. I know the name, but I don't have a clear picture of his background. Is he someone who came up through the usual political-staff route, or something different?

Maya He's 41, born in Santa Monica, California, and went to Duke University. He worked as a congressional aide, then on the staff of then-Senator Jeff Sessions, focusing on restricting immigration. He joined Trump's 2016 campaign as a speechwriter, was a senior adviser and speechwriting director in the first term, and after 2021 founded the advocacy group America First Legal.

Sam And since Trump came back? If he's been deputy chief of staff, I'd assume that's a lower-profile job, and I'm wondering how much he really shaped policy from there.

Maya Since January 20, 2025, he's been deputy chief of staff for policy and also homeland security adviser. Neither title needs Senate confirmation. Al Jazeera and the Wall Street Journal both described those titles as understating his influence across domestic policy. Reuters called him the architect of some of the administration's toughest domestic policies, and noted he set a target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day.

Sam Okay, so he's in, starting Monday. The other side of the aisle must have had something to say within hours. What did Democratic leaders say once the announcement landed on Friday?

Maya Sharp language, and fast. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that Trump "learned nothing from his historic defeat," and called Miller "the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration." He added that Trump couldn't have made a worse choice, and that Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way.

Sam That's the Senate leader. I'd guess the House side was no softer, since Democrats just won there too. Who speaks for them, and what did that person say?

Maya House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is widely expected to become speaker when the new Congress is seated in January. He wrote that Miller "is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands." He also wrote that Miller's presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor, and ended with "Fire him today." Those statements were reported on November 6 by The Hill, the New York Post and The Guardian, among others.

Sam Words are one thing. Is anyone talking about doing something? I'm wondering whether a rank-and-file Democrat said anything about actually following through.

Maya Representative Robert Garcia of California, who is in line to chair the House Oversight Committee, said Miller should "lawyer up" and that Democrats would keep investigating him. Representative Ro Khanna called the appointment "an act of vengeance."

Sam So Democrats are promising investigations. But could they simply stop him from taking the job? It sounds as though they'd want to, with both chambers about to be theirs.

Maya No. Chief of staff doesn't need Senate confirmation, which is the Senate vote that approves many top appointments. The incoming majorities can't block the move itself. What they can do, and several have promised, is go after the immigration enforcement apparatus he has directed. The tools are committee subpoenas, which are legal orders to hand over documents or testify, plus hearings and the appropriations process, meaning Congress's control over how agencies are funded.

Sam Let me put that in everyday terms. They can't veto the hire, but they can make life hard for the agencies he's been steering, by questioning people under oath and by controlling money. What about Republicans? Are they lining up behind him?

Maya Quieter, and not uniform. Retiring Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina told CNN, in remarks reported by the New York Post, that the choice "is a colossal mistake and the last thing we need 72 hours after the ass whooping we got on Tuesday." Other Republicans haven't mounted a public campaign against the appointment.

Sam Back to the public mood, since the midterms just happened. Does the polling say anything about how people view the enforcement work he's tied to?

Maya It does. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed early in the week of the announcement found 36 percent approving of the immigration crackdown and 54 percent disapproving. Exit polls from the midterms, reported by Newsweek, found 57 percent of voters saying enforcement had gone too far, and 60 percent disapproving of ICE's performance. ICE is Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Sam So a majority is against the policy he's known for. Though I'd assume that was the main reason people voted the way they did.

Maya Not by those exit polls. Immigration wasn't the top issue for most voters; the economy and democracy ranked higher. But the enforcement record is now attached to the person running the West Wing.

Sam And why is everyone arguing so hard about one staffing change? I'm trying to see why a chief of staff matters that much.

Maya The job controls the president's time, the flow of paper to his desk, and the internal winners and losers. The Atlantic and other reporting described Wiles as a guardrail who made sure Trump understood risks, and Miller as an accelerant. With less legislation likely and more investigations, the choice is about how to spend the last two years: negotiation, or confrontation through executive action. Trump has said he's willing to work with Democrats. Still unknown as of November 7 are whether Miller keeps the homeland security portfolio, who replaces him as deputy, and whether Wiles's new role carries real authority.

Sam The second story is a federal child abuse material case, and the man charged is the father of a very well-known woman. I know there was an arrest on Friday and that it's serious. What did prosecutors say he did, and where did it happen?

Maya The man is Thomas Markle, 82, father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who leads the Los Angeles-based office, said Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls. He added that the office will prosecute him to the fullest extent of federal law. It's a single federal count, and no plea has been entered.

Sam Possessing it where, though? He's elderly and I'd picture him at home, so I'm wondering how the case got tied to Los Angeles, and what agents are said to have found when they got there.

Maya The Justice Department said the material was kept in two Los Angeles-area storage units he had rented for nearly two decades. Reuters, citing the complaint, put the start of the rental at 2008. Agents searched the units last week with a warrant and seized about 78 items: slides, 35mm film negatives and books that prosecutors say contained the alleged material. FBI Director Kash Patel said agents moved quickly and arrested Markle in Florida.

Sam Florida is a long way from Los Angeles, and he's described as frail. Where did the arrest happen, and what did the first court appearance look like once he was in custody?

Maya He was arrested in Polk County, then appeared in Tampa in a wheelchair before Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin. He was released back to the senior care facility on condition of electronic monitoring, so it's effectively house arrest. He can travel only within the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California, and he's barred from contact with minors. He has a court-appointed federal public defender.

Sam A judge sending an 82-year-old for a psychiatric exam sounds odd to me. I'd have thought that comes later, if at all, and I'd like to know what the judge was worried about.

Maya The Associated Press reported the concern was that his age and health might leave him unable to understand the proceedings or help his lawyer. CNN added physical condition and apparent memory issues. In plain terms, a defendant has to be fit to be tried, and the evaluation checks that before the case moves. Age and illness don't decide guilt. His arraignment in California isn't scheduled, and prosecutors said it's unlikely for several weeks.

Sam This all came out of the blue on the sixth for most people, but I'd guess it didn't for those close to the family. Was there a warning sign beforehand, and who raised it?

Maya It followed allegations that became public in late October. On October 23, Britain's Sun reported that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., said he found a large quantity of child sexual abuse images while clearing out his father's former home in Cebu, in the Philippines. He said he reported them to Philippine police and the FBI. Philippine authorities told Reuters that an anti-trafficking task force in Cebu was investigating. Markle denied it, telling the Daily Mail the allegations were "sick lies."

Sam That denial was to a newspaper, though, not to a court. And his daughter has been estranged from him for years, so I'm wondering whether she said anything once the allegations surfaced.

Maya She did, on October 23. Meghan said she was "deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours," with her thoughts with any children who may have been harmed. She said that in 2018 a letter making "troubling and disturbing allegations" about her father went to the Metropolitan Police, and she was "given assurances that these were being investigated." Her distance from him, she said, was "for one reason: to protect them," meaning her children. On the day of the arrest, the Sussexes had no comment.

Sam The maximum sentence matters here, and I'm curious how to read it for a man this age. Then I'd like the one thing to keep from each story.

Maya If he's convicted, the statutory maximum is 20 years. That's the ceiling prosecutors stated, not a predicted sentence. Still unknown are whether more charges follow, whether Philippine authorities act, and whether the evaluation raises a competency question. On the takeaways: for Miller, the Senate can't block the job, but the new Democratic majorities can use subpoenas and funding. For Markle, he's charged, not convicted, and the court will first decide whether he can stand trial.

Sam That's our show for today. This is an AI-generated podcast, the voices are synthetic, and the facts come from the reporting named in the closing note, whose authors aren't affiliated with us. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back with a new episode tomorrow.

Maya Thank you for spending the time with us, and we'll see you tomorrow with two more stories worth keeping up with.

Sam Everything today came from reporting by Reuters, the Associated Press, CBS News, USA Today, the BBC, CNN, Page Six, The Guardian, NBC News, the Daily Mail and The Sun.