Caroline Sunshine, who served in the Trump White House, made a direct call on Wednesday for chief of staff Susie Wiles to step down, arguing that the Republican Party's sweeping midterm losses are a direct failure of Wiles's leadership. Appearing on Fox News's Jesse Watters Primetime, Sunshine said she was voicing what many in the president's orbit are saying behind closed doors.
"Susie Wiles needs to resign," Sunshine told host Jesse Watters, prompting a raised eyebrow from the host. "She needs to offer her resignation to the president before he has to ask for it. Her campaign skills have not translated into governing. Susie was behind the historic win in 2024, and she deserved credit for it and got the top job for it."
Sunshine's remarks come as Republicans are still digesting a dismal election night. The party lost control of the House, and the Senate picture remains grim, with key races still uncalled. She pointed specifically to the tight Mississippi Senate race, where incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith is locked in a near tie with Democrat Scott Colom. According to Decision Desk HQ, Colom leads by a razor-thin margin, 49.04% to 48.85%, with the outcome still too close to call.
"She is behind the historic loss where we lost Mississippi and have lost potentially the Senate for six years, and so that cuts both ways," Sunshine said, arguing that Wiles's record now demands accountability.
Sunshine warned that keeping Wiles in her role could doom Republicans again in 2028. "If she loves and respects the president and his legacy, she'll do the right thing and step aside," she said. She also laid blame on the broader staff and strategy: "A lot of this was staff failure, a lot of this was strategy and messaging failure. It's the chief of staff's job to manage the staff. Why wasn't the staff out messaging?"
The call for Wiles's resignation is not entirely new. Reports before the midterms suggested she might leave after the elections. Politico noted last month that Trump had heard criticism of Wiles from allies, though the president publicly dismissed the story as "TOTAL FAKE NEWS" and insisted she had his "COMPLETE confidence."
Trump has repeatedly praised Wiles, including after she revealed her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year, calling her "an amazing person" and "an amazing fighter." Wiles announced in September that she was cancer-free.
Former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told NewsNation's The Hill Sunday that he expects Wiles to depart after the midterms, but not because of any falling out with Trump. "It's just a natural sort of time to make that change," he said.
Sarah Matthews, a former deputy press secretary in Trump's first term, told MeidasTouch in October that Trump has been satisfied with the current arrangement but has floated potential replacements, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller—a prospect she described as "terrifying."
As the GOP recalibrates, the fallout from the midterms is already reshaping the 2028 landscape. The midterm rout has scrambled the Republican primary field, wounding some potential contenders while elevating others. Sunshine's demand underscores the internal pressure on Trump's team to respond to the electoral rebuke.
With Democrats already mapping out their strategy to counter the president's agenda, the question of who runs the West Wing is more than a personnel matter—it's a signal of how Trump intends to navigate the next two years. For now, Wiles remains in place, but the calls for her head are growing louder.
