Nicolai Haugsted
Trump administration suffers fresh departure as senior Stephen Miller aide exits.
Personnel changes inside Donald Trump’s White House are continuing ahead of November’s midterm elections, with another senior administration official preparing to move into the private sector.
According to The Daily Beast, Emily Underwood, a senior policy strategist and top deputy to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, is leaving the administration after serving since the beginning of Trump’s second term.
Her departure adds another name to a growing list of officials who have recently announced plans to leave the White House, including figures working across communications, domestic policy and national security.
Miller loses senior deputy
Underwood currently serves as deputy assistant to the president and senior policy strategist, giving her a role in coordinating policy across the federal government.
Axios first reported her departure Tuesday. According to the outlet, Underwood will leave government to become a partner at venture capital firm Trust Ventures.
Longtime Marco Rubio adviser Caleb Orr is expected to replace her.
Underwood previously worked as a policy adviser and joined the current administration when Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Her exit is particularly notable because of her position under Miller, one of Trump’s most influential White House advisers. Miller serves as deputy chief of staff and has played a central role in shaping the administration’s domestic policy agenda.
Leavitt also heading for the exit
Several departures have emerged from the administration over recent months, including from Trump’s communications operation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to leave at the end of August to spend more time with her two young children. Trump announced her departure on Truth Social on August 12.
No clear frontrunner has emerged publicly to replace Leavitt.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson announced her own departure at the end of July, while Special Assistant to the President and Director of Media Affairs Sonny Joy Nelson revealed in May that she was leaving.
Lea Bardon, who served as special assistant to the president and director of cabinet affairs, announced her departure in April.
National security team also losing senior figure
Changes have not been limited to the White House’s domestic and communications teams.
Deputy National Security Adviser Andy Baker is also preparing to leave after playing a significant role in foreign policy during Trump’s second term.
Baker worked closely with Vice President JD Vance and participated in negotiations involving Iran, placing him inside some of the administration’s most consequential national security discussions.
Underwood’s departure therefore arrives during a broader period of personnel turnover inside the administration, with several officials who joined Trump’s second White House now moving on as the November midterm elections approach.
