Every president who absorbs a brutal midterm has exactly one lever he can pull without asking Congress for permission: the people sitting around his own table. Donald Trump pulled it in characteristic fashion — hinting at change on camera, denying panic the next week, then moving fast and hard once he settled on his target.
Key Points
- Trump told 60 Minutes he expects to make “a few changes” to his Cabinet after the 2026 midterm wipeout, while declining to name names
- Within days he publicly downplayed any broad shakeup, framing the losses as a “point in time” rather than a verdict on his team
- The first concrete move landed fast: Stephen Miller replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, announced for a November 9 start
- Academic research on
