Reported by BBC World
In the aftermath of the Republican Party's sweeping defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections, Donald Trump said he would be willing to work with the newly ascendent Democrats in Congress.
On Friday, however, he elevated Stephen Miller, his bare-knuckled political operative and longtime adviser, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.
Far from an olive branch to Congress, Miller's promotion could be a sign that the president is girding for political battle by installing a partisan firebrand in the top White House job.
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"The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our president and defend this magnificent republic," Miller posted on X, adding that he was "honored beyond words" to be Trump's pick for the job.
One of the most powerful positions in Washington, the chief of staff is gatekeeper to the president, agenda-setter in the White House and chief negotiator with Congress and other outside political interests.
"Stephen Miller's been with me since the beginning," Trump said in comments to reporters after announcing the move on his Truth Social website. "He gets it."
Watch: Trump says he appointed Stephen Miller ‘to make a change’
Miller is best known for being the driving force behind the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies, which has included ramping up funding for enforcement operations across the US.
He made headlines when he called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration officials during a massive deportation operation in Minneapolis, a "domestic terrorist" and an "assassin". He would later walk back those words, saying federal agents "may not have been following" proper protocol.
He has also reportedly played a leading role in the US military operations in Venezuela and against suspected drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which critics have condemned as extra-judicial killings.
Miller joined Trump's political operation early in his 2016 presidential bid as a strategist and incendiary warm-up speaker at his raucous campaign rallies.
He was one of the few senior White House staffers to persevere through the entirety of his first term. He stayed loyal…