November 9, 2026

Michael's Daily Memo

In thinking about President Trump’s selection of Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, I keep remembering Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in September 2025. Three speakers stand out. Erika Kirk forgave the young man accused of killing her husband. Trump then said that was where he differed with Charlie: he hates his opponents. Miller also spoke, and told “our enemies” they were wickedness, envy and hatred. It was a jarring speech for a theoretically solemn setting.

If meeting “halfway” is envisioned as football’s 50-yard line, Miller is a strictly red-zone player. And a president looking for anything less than total combat does not make him chief of staff.

Three days after Republicans lost the House and Senate, Trump replaced Susie Wiles with the architect of the deportation campaign that his own political team privately blames, in part, for the defeat.

“He’s very loyal,” the president said of Miller on Friday. That night at Mar-a-Lago, Miller said: “I pledge to you, Mr. President, my absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment, and my total devotion to your success and the success of this country.” When a president reads defeat as betrayal rather than a verdict on policy, he hires the most loyal man in the building.

Wiles was a guardrail against accelerants in the president’s orbit like Miller. Now she’s gone.

The New York Times reports that the day after the election, Miller convened one of his regular immigration calls with national security officials. No mention of the results. No talk of scaling back. He and Trump are nothing if not consistent.

Don’t take it from Trump’s critics. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, no enemy of this president, wrote that Miller’s elevation signals Trump plans to “double down on the economic and cultural pugilism that cost the Republicans so much this week.” The Journal’s larger worry is a president surrounded by loyalists who tell him what he wants to hear.

Personnel is policy. Trump just told us his plan for the next two years, and it isn’t compromise.

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DAILY POLL

After losing Congress, why did Trump make Stephen Miller chief of staff: to reward loyalty or to fight?

TOP STORY

In a 60 Minutes interview after Republicans lost more than 40 House seats and at least seven Senate seats, President Trump conceded his deportation push was "too tough" and his economic messaging fell flat, defended the Iran war and hinted at staff changes just before ousting chief of staff Susie Wiles, replacing her with Stephen Miller.

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IN OTHER NEWS

Stephen Miller, Trump’s newly appointed White House chief of staff, has been a driving force behind the administration’s hardline immigration policies, drawing widespread criticism for his inflammatory rhetoric targeting migrants, Democrats and those who challenge the president’s agenda.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, ineligible for the presidency, has been quietly meeting with union leaders including Jimmy Williams Jr., Sara Nelson and Shawn Fain to push for a labor-aligned progressive 2028 candidate amid uncertainty over whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will run.

Former President Joe Biden said his cancer will keep him from doing as many conversations as he hoped to promote his upcoming memoir, "Promise Me, America," which is slated for release November 17.

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A pro-Palestinian 'Boycott Bike Ride' targeting six Jewish-owned restaurants near Rittenhouse Square drew long lines of counterprotesters, scuffles, and three arrests Sunday. Mayor Cherelle Parker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and other state and local leaders condemned the protest.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is a "hard yes" on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of abusing his power and undermining national security while predicting strong Democratic support as Rep. Thomas Massie prepares to force a floor vote.

Jonathan Turley argues that with Democrats having seized both chambers of Congress, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have effectively lost their window to retire under a Republican Senate, risking a 6-3 conservative majority flipping to a 5-4 liberal one without any court-packing.

MORE NEWS

Nvidia has launched an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang after he acknowledged an intimate relationship with a business executive U.S. intelligence officials identified as a suspected Chinese spy, raising national security concerns about potential access to sensitive company information.

President Donald Trump said he was "only kidding" when he announced on Truth Social that he had offered UFC CEO Dana White the job of White House press secretary, a post vacant since Katie Zacharia departed in October after only five days.

While communities across the country voted to restrict data center development over environmental and economic concerns, Harwood, North Dakota — population 845 — overwhelmingly rejected increased oversight, voting to welcome a $3 billion, 1.8-million-square-foot facility on its outskirts, a project expected to generate significant tax revenue and jobs.

For the Left

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ruled out any cooperation with incoming White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, calling him a dangerous choice and vowing that Democrats will use their new congressional majorities to block the Trump administrations’s agenda.

For the Right

Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution, expressing hope the decision will be overturned and warning that lawmakers may need to intervene to restore eroded constitutional norms.

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