CNN’s Kaitlan Collins says tensions inside President Donald Trump’s White House have reached a level reminiscent of the bitter infighting that marked his first term, following the departure of chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Opening Friday night’s edition of The Source, Collins described a West Wing shaken by Trump’s decision to replace Wiles with Stephen Miller, one of his closest and most controversial advisers.
“The announcement that Susie Wiles was out and Stephen Miller was in stunned many people inside the West Wing this afternoon,” Collins said.
She then revealed what White House aides had been telling her about the atmosphere behind closed doors.
“It’s hard to overstate, really, just how factionalized that environment has become in the last several days alone.”
“Aides that I’ve spoken with have described a workplace that is filled with tension and infighting, likening it to the knives-out days of the president’s first term.”
Collins reported that Wiles’ departure could further intensify the struggle for influence among Trump’s closest advisers.
“Now, many people believe that Susie Wiles’ departure will only accelerate the shift in the balance of power in the president’s inner circle that is underway right now,” she said.
The president’s decision puts Miller, a central architect of his administration’s aggressive immigration policies, in charge of White House operations.
Collins highlighted the political controversy surrounding those policies, citing CNN polling that found 58% of voters believed the administration’s immigration enforcement actions had gone too far.
She also revisited Miller’s response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
“Stephen Miller was the aide, of course, who instantly defended the federal agents in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, even calling the U.S. citizen a would-be assassin, something that turned out to not even be close to being true.”
But Collins’ most revealing reporting concerned Trump’s reaction to the Republican Party’s sweeping midterm election losses.
“My sources tonight say that the president’s anger was growing in the last few days, as he consumed news coverage of Republicans’ historic losses,” she reported.
“And Wiles was one of the people he blamed for it.”
Trump publicly praised Wiles following the announcement of her departure, saying she had done “a great job” and would move to his political operation.
Collins’ account, however, described a far more contentious atmosphere inside the administration, with Trump’s election frustrations adding to the tensions surrounding the leadership change.
Miller is scheduled to assume the chief of staff position Monday, November 9, as the White House prepares for a new political landscape following the Republican defeats.
It’s hard to overstate just how factionalized the West Wing is right now, filled with the tension, infighting and the "knives out” atmosphere of President Trump’s first term. Our latest reporting tonight: https://t.co/CYnllEp0NI
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 7, 2026
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