A former Trump administration staffer is calling for White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to step down following Republicans’ devastating midterm election losses, arguing that the president’s longtime political adviser has failed to translate her campaign success into effective White House leadership.
Caroline Sunshine, who previously served in the Trump administration, delivered the blistering assessment Wednesday during an appearance on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime, declaring that Wiles should resign before President Donald Trump is forced to make the decision himself.
“I’m gonna say publicly what a lot of people are saying privately: Susie Wiles needs to resign,” Sunshine told host Jesse Watters, according to The Hill.
“She needs to offer her resignation to the president before he has to ask for it. Her campaign skills have not translated into governing,” Sunshine continued.
The remarks come as Republicans grapple with the fallout from Tuesday’s elections, which saw Democrats capture control of both chambers of Congress and deliver a significant blow to Trump’s political agenda.
Sunshine acknowledged Wiles’s pivotal role in Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign but argued that the same accountability should apply following the party’s latest setbacks.
“Susie was behind the historic win in 2024, and she deserved credit for it and got the top job for it,” Sunshine said.
She argued that Wiles must now accept responsibility for a historic defeat that has jeopardized Republican control of the Senate and raised serious questions about the party’s prospects heading into the 2028 presidential election.
Sunshine specifically pointed to the unexpectedly competitive Senate race in Mississippi, where Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith faced a strong challenge from Democrat Scott Colom.
The race remained uncalled in the reporting cited by The Hill, with Colom holding a narrow lead.
Sunshine warned that retaining the same White House leadership could lead to further Republican defeats.
“I think if she loves and respects the president and his legacy, she’ll do the right thing and step aside because on the current trajectory, we can’t win in 2028 if we keep going down this current lane,” she said.
The former administration official also blamed failures in political strategy, communications and staffing for the election results.
“And a lot of this was staff failure, a lot of this was strategy and messaging failure,” Sunshine said. “It’s the chief of staff’s job to manage the staff.”
Sunshine’s criticism extended beyond her appearance with Watters.
During a separate Fox News election broadcast, she described the Republican losses as preventable and called for additional members of Trump’s political team to resign.
“Tonight was not a failure for the president,” Sunshine argued, characterizing the results as a warning from Trump’s supporters about the administration’s direction.
She maintained that the White House needed new personnel willing to respond to the concerns expressed by Republican voters, according to Media Matters’ transcript of the broadcast.
The public demand for Wiles’s resignation follows weeks of speculation about her future in the administration.
In October, Politico reported that Trump had privately consulted political allies about Wiles’s performance and discussed potential replacements.
Among the names reportedly considered were Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, New York Yankees President Randy Levine, special envoy Steve Witkoff, federal housing official Bill Pulte and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Separate reporting from The Washington Post described growing competition among senior administration figures amid expectations that Wiles could depart following the elections.
Trump, however, has repeatedly rejected suggestions that his chief of staff is on her way out.
Responding to the Politico report last month, the president dismissed the speculation as false and declared that Wiles had his “COMPLETE confidence.”
In a subsequent interview with CNN, Trump went even further, saying there was “zero chance” he was considering replacing her.
“Susie is here and she’s gonna be here for a long time,” Trump told CNN’s Kristen Holmes.
The president has consistently praised Wiles, who became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff after helping guide his return to the presidency in 2024.
Not everyone in Trump’s orbit has embraced the speculation about her departure.
Semafor reported in October that numerous administration officials and advisers doubted Trump would remove Wiles, with some suggesting the rumors were being fueled by individuals seeking to improve their own standing within the White House.
Still, the election results have intensified scrutiny of the president’s senior advisers.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Republicans were increasingly turning on one another following the losses, with disputes emerging over the administration’s handling of the Iran war, economic concerns and the party’s broader political strategy.
Sunshine’s remarks add to that growing debate over who should be held accountable for the Republican setbacks.
For Trump, the controversy presents a difficult political decision: stand behind one of his most trusted advisers or consider a leadership shake-up as his administration prepares to confront a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Despite the mounting criticism, Trump has not publicly indicated that he intends to remove Wiles.
