Stephen Miller (advisor)
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Stephen Miller (born August 23, 1985) is an American political advisor serving since 2025 as the
White House deputy chief of staff The White House Deputy Chief of Staff is officially the top aide to the White House Chief of Staff, White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the Wh ...
for policy and the 12th United States homeland security advisor. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a senior advisor for policy and
White House director of speechwriting The White House Director of Speechwriting is a role within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The officeholder serves as senior advisor and chief speechwriter to the president of the United States The president of ...
during President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's first term. His politics have been described as
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
and
anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
. A graduate of
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, Miller was involved in conservative causes during his youth, serving as the president of the Duke chapter of
David Horowitz David Joel Horowitz (January 10, 1939 – April 29, 2025) was an American conservative writer and activist. He was a founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website '' FrontPage Magazine''; and ...
's
Students for Academic Freedom The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative anti-Islam foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was ...
and writing conservative columns for the school newspaper. He pursued a career in politics after his graduation, first working as a press secretary for U.S. representatives
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...
and
John Shadegg John Barden Shadegg (; born October 22, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. representative for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, numbered as the 4th district before the 2000 censu ...
. He became the communications director for Senator
Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...
in 2009, who later became the United States attorney general under President Trump. In 2016 he joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign, later joining the first Trump administration as a senior advisor to the president and the White House director of speechwriting. As a speechwriter for Trump, Miller helped write Trump's 2017 inaugural address. He was a key adviser from the early days of Trump's presidency. An immigration hardliner, Miller was a primary author of Trump's
travel ban A travel ban is one of a variety of mobility restrictions imposed by governments. Bans can be universal or selective. The restrictions can be geographic, imposed by either the originating or destination jurisdiction. They can also be based on indi ...
, the administration's reduction of refugees accepted to the United States, and Trump's policy of separating migrant children from their parents. He prevented the publication of internal administration studies that showed that refugees had a net positive effect on government revenues. Miller reportedly played a central role in the resignation in April 2019 of
Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, principal White House deputy chief of staff ...
, whom he believed was insufficiently hawkish on immigration. As a White House spokesman, Miller on multiple occasions made false and unsubstantiated claims regarding widespread
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
. Emails leaked in November 2019 showed that Miller had promoted articles from
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
publications
VDARE VDARE was an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech. Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism ...
and ''
American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...
'', and had espoused
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
. Miller is on the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
's list of extremists. After leaving the first Trump administration, he founded the America First Legal Foundation. In November 2024, it was announced that Miller would serve as Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor in his second term, taking office on January 20, 2025. He is the youngest person to serve as homeland security advisor and the first
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ...
to hold the position. In Trump's second term, Miller emerged as one of the most powerful Trump administration officials and a key author of numerous policies.


Early life

Miller was born on August 23, 1985, in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, where he was raised, the second of three children in the
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family of Michael D. Miller, a real estate investor, and Miriam (''née'' Glosser). His mother's ancestors Louis W. Glosser (originally named Wolf-Lieb Glosser or Glatzer/Glotzer) and his wife Bessie emigrated to the United States from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
's Antopol, in what is currently
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, escaping the 1903–06
anti-Jewish pogroms Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and other parts of the Russian Empire. When his great-grandmother arrived in the U.S. in 1906, she spoke only
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
, the historical language of the
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...
of Eastern Europe. Miller's uncle recalls that, when Wolf-Lieb Glosser reached Ellis Island on January 7, 1903, with $8 to his name, "though fluent in Polish, Russian and Yiddish, he understood no English." Miller attributed his conservativism to ''Guns, Crime, and Freedom'', a book by
Wayne LaPierre Wayne Robert LaPierre Jr. (born November 8, 1949) is an American gun rights lobbyist who was the CEO and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), a position he held between 1991 and 2024. LaPierre has faced ...
opposing
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
. Miller cited
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
's book ''
The Way Things Ought To Be Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
'' as his favorite. In his yearbook, Miller quoted
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
: "There can be no fifty-fifty Americanism". According to
Larry Elder Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. He hosts ''The Larry Elder Show'', based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 199 ...
, one of his mentors, Miller was already reading
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
and the
Federalist Papers ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The col ...
in high school.
David Horowitz David Joel Horowitz (January 10, 1939 – April 29, 2025) was an American conservative writer and activist. He was a founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website '' FrontPage Magazine''; and ...
was an influential figure in Miller's life; Horowitz' contacts helped Miller kickstart his career. Miller invited Horowitz to speak, first at the high school and later at
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
; both institutions vetoed the event. Jean Guerrero, who wrote a book on Miller, noted that this conversion coincided with family upheaval; his father Michael facing financial difficulties, Miller moved out of a wealthy neighborhood and was forced to go to
Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...
, a diverse public school. Miller riled his classmates multiple times with statements and stunts, many of them targeting students of minority populations. He told Latino students to speak only English. Early on, Miller began to appear on
conservative talk radio Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
; Elder reportedly invited Miller on his radio show as a guest a total of 69 times. Miller wrote in 2002 a letter to the ''Santa Monica Outlook'' to complain about the school's multiculturalism and its response to the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. In 2007, Miller earned his bachelor's degree from
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, where he studied political science. He served as president of the Duke chapter of Horowitz's
Students for Academic Freedom The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative anti-Islam foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was ...
and wrote conservative columns for the school newspaper. Miller gained national attention for his defense of the students who were wrongly accused of rape in the Duke lacrosse rape hoax. While attending Duke, Miller organized the " Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" and accused poet and civil rights activist
Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...
of "racial paranoia" and described student organization Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán (MEChA) as a "radical national Hispanic group that believes in racial superiority". Miller and the Duke Conservative Union helped co-member Richard Spencer, a Duke graduate student at the time, with fundraising and promotion for an immigration policy debate in March 2007 between
Peter Laufer Peter David Laufer is an independent American journalist, broadcaster and documentary filmmaker working in traditional and new media. He is the James Wallace Chair in Journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. ...
, an open-borders activist and
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
professor, and journalist
Peter Brimelow Peter Brimelow (born October 13, 1947) is an American white supremacist writer. He is the founder of the website VDARE, an anti-immigration site associated with white supremacy, white nationalism, and the alt-right. Brimelow was previously a w ...
, founder of the anti-immigration website
VDARE VDARE was an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech. Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism ...
. Spencer later became an important figure in the
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
movement and president of the
National Policy Institute The National Policy Institute (NPI) was a white supremacist think tank and lobbying group based in Alexandria, Virginia. It lobbied for white supremacists and the alt-right. Its president was Richard B. Spencer. It has been largely inactive ...
; he coined the term "
alt-right The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...
". In a 2016 interview, Spencer said he had mentored Miller at Duke. Describing their close relationship, Spencer said that he was "kind of glad no one's talked about this", for fear of harming Trump. In a later blog post, he said the relationship had been exaggerated. Miller has said he has "absolutely no relationship with Mr. Spencer" and that he "completely repudiate his views, and his claims are 100 percent false". Duke University's former senior vice president, John Burness, told the Raleigh ''
News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...
'' in February 2017 that, while at Duke, Miller "seemed to assume that if you were in disagreement with him, there was something malevolent or stupid about your thinking—incredibly intolerant." According to Jane Stancill of ''The News & Observer'', during the Duke lacrosse rape hoax, Miller's was the "lonely voice insisting that the players were innocent." History professor
KC Johnson Robert David Johnson (born November 27, 1967), also known as KC Johnson, is an American history professor at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He played a major role in reporting on the Duke lacrosse r ...
described Duke's atmosphere during the case as not "conducive to speaking up" and praised Miller's role in it: "I think it did take a lot of courage, and he has to get credit for that." Miller devoted more of his school paper column, "Miller Time," to the lacrosse scandal than any other topic.


Early career

After graduating from college, Miller began to work as a press secretary for Congresswoman
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...
, a Tea Party Republican, after
David Horowitz David Joel Horowitz (January 10, 1939 – April 29, 2025) was an American conservative writer and activist. He was a founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website '' FrontPage Magazine''; and ...
connected them. Though most of Miller's work for Bachmann was unrelated to immigration, he helped influence her rhetoric about undocumented immigrants. After an undocumented immigrant near Bachmann's district crashed her car into a school bus, killing four children, Miller pushed Bachmann to talk about the incident on television; Bachmann called the incident an example of "anarchy versus the rule of law". Horowitz later helped Miller to get a position with Arizona Congressman
John Shadegg John Barden Shadegg (; born October 22, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. representative for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, numbered as the 4th district before the 2000 censu ...
in early 2009.


Communications director for Jeff Sessions

In 2009, Miller began working for
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
senator
Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...
, who was later appointed
United States attorney general The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...
. Miller rose to the position of Sessions' communications director. Sessions introduced Miller to anti-immigration think tanks such as
Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a nonprofit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immigr ...
,
NumbersUSA NumbersUSA is an anti-immigrationCenter for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an American anti-immigration think tank. It favors far lower immigration numbers and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graham alongside eugenicist a ...
, as well as
the Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...
. In the
113th Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...
, Miller played a role in defeating the bipartisan Gang of Eight's proposed immigration reform bill. As communications director, Miller was responsible for writing many of the speeches Sessions gave about the bill. Miller worked closely with conservative media such as
Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (; known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentar ...
in promoting an anti-immigration agenda. During this time, he got acquainted with Breitbart News co-founder
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
. In January 2015, Miller and Sessions issued the ''Immigration Handbook for the New Republican Majority,'' which was a rebuttal of the more moderate stance on immigration of the Growth & Opportunity Project published by the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
(RNC) following incumbent Democratic president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's victory over Republican candidate
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
in the
2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...
. Miller and Sessions developed what Miller describes as "nation-state populism", a response to
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
and immigration that influenced Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Miller also worked on
Dave Brat David Alan Brat (born July 27, 1964) is an American academic and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, Brat served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district from 2014 to 2019. Brat came to national p ...
's successful 2014 House campaign, which unseated Republican majority leader
Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Mino ...
.


2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign

In January 2016, Miller joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a senior policy adviser. He had previously reached out to the campaign repeatedly. Though he initially had doubts about Trump's electability, Bannon convinced Miller that Trump could win. Bannon persuaded campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to promote Miller to become the speechwriter. Beginning in March 2016, he regularly spoke on the campaign's behalf, serving as a "
warm-up act An opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, supporting act or opener, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform ...
" for Trump. Miller wrote the speech Trump gave at the
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...
. In August 2016, Miller was named the head of Trump's economic policy team. Miller was the primary advocate for economist Peter Navarro to join the campaign full time.


First Trump administration (2017–2021)

In November 2016, Miller was named national policy director of Trump's transition team. On December 13, 2016, the transition team announced that Miller would serve as
Senior Advisor to the President Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. Senior advisors to the president do not have formal government decision making authority, but they can have significant infl ...
for Policy during the Trump administration. As a speechwriter for Trump, Miller helped write Trump's 2017 inaugural address. He was initially given responsibility for setting all domestic policy, but quickly assumed responsibility for immigration policy only. Since becoming one of three Senior Advisors to the President, Miller has been regarded as the adviser who shaped the Trump administration's immigration policies. In the early days of Trump's presidency, Miller worked with Sessions, now Trump's nominee for attorney general, and Bannon, now Trump's chief strategist, to enact policies through
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
s to restrict immigration and crack down on
sanctuary cities A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law. Proponents of sanctuary cities cite motives such as reducing the fear of persons which illegally immigrated fr ...
. Miller and Bannon preferred executive orders to legislation. They were involved in the formation of
Executive Order 13769 Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by Donald Trump and his supporters and critics alike, and commonly known as such, or commonly referred to as the ...
, which sought to restrict U.S. travel and immigration by citizens of seven Muslim countries, and suspend the
United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is an association of federal agencies and nonprofit organizations that works hand-in-hand to identify and admit qualified refugees for resettlement into the United States. Under Section 207 o ...
for 120 days, while indefinitely suspending entry of
Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...
to the United States. Miller has been credited as the person behind the Trump administration's decision to reduce the number of refugees accepted into the United States. Miller was seen as sharing an "ideological kinship" with Bannon, and had a "long collaboration" with him. However, Miller distanced himself from Bannon in 2017 as Bannon fell out of favor with others in the White House. Miller played an influential role in Trump's decision to fire
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
director
James Comey James Brien Comey Jr. (; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until Dismissal of James Comey, his termination in May 2017. Comey was a registered Repub ...
in May 2017. Miller and Trump drafted a letter to Comey that was not sent after an internal review and opposition from
White House counsel The White House Counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Off ...
Don McGahn, but Deputy Attorney General
Rod Rosenstein Rod Jay Rosenstein (; born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States Deputy Attorney General, United States deputy attorney general from 2017 to 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States a ...
was given a copy, after which he prepared his own letter to Comey, which was cited as the reason for firing Comey. In November 2017, Miller was interviewed by special counsel
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...
in relation to his role in Comey's dismissal. In September 2017, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that Miller stopped the Trump administration from showing the public an internal study by the
Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
that found that refugees had a net positive effect on government revenues. Miller insisted that only the costs of refugees be publicized, not the revenues refugees bring in. In September 2017, Miller and other White House officials successfully pressured Trump to cancel
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a Immigration policy of the United States, United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigra ...
(DACA). In October 2017, Trump provided a list of immigration reform demands to Congress, asking for the construction of more wall along the Mexico–United States border, hiring 10,000 additional
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
agents, tightened asylum policies, and the discontinuance of federal funds to
sanctuary cities A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law. Proponents of sanctuary cities cite motives such as reducing the fear of persons which illegally immigrated fr ...
in exchange for any action on undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors. Those immigrants had been protected from deportation under the DACA policy until that policy's rescission. ''The New York Times'' reported that Miller and Sessions were among the Trump Administration officials who developed the demands. On January 11, 2018, during an
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...
meeting about immigration reform attended by Democratic Senator
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Dem ...
and Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
, Miller invited anti-immigration Senators including
Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...
and
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...
. According to ''Chaos Under Heaven'', a book by Josh Rogin, Miller was part of a group of officials that wanted Trump to "speed the downfall" of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
and that "believed in economic nationalism, the return of manufacturing from abroad, and the protection of domestic industries, even at the expense of free trade". In early 2018, Miller proposed stop providing student visas to Chinese nationals, making it impossible for Chinese citizens to study in the United States. Miller argued that a ban was necessary to reduce Chinese espionage, but that another benefit was that it would hurt elite universities with staff and students critical of Trump. Within the Trump administration, Miller's idea gained support from trade advisor Peter Navarro, but also faced opposition, in particular from
Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Repu ...
, the ambassador to China, who argued that such a ban would harm US trade to China and hurt small American universities more than the elite ones. According to former Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor, in April 2018, Miller argued with Paul F. Zukunft and advocated for a drone attack on a migrant ship heading for the US, saying people onboard were not protected under the US constitution as they were in international waters; a spokesperson for Miller denied the report. In May 2018, it was reported Miller had attended a controversial meeting which included
George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, mainly action and adventure film roles. He won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the ...
on behalf of two Arab princes, Wikistrat CEO Joel Zamel,
Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...
, and Donald Trump Jr., on August 3, 2016. ''The New York Times'' had also reported in November 2017 that Miller was in regular contact with
George Papadopoulos George Demetrios Papadopoulos (; born August 19, 1987) is an author and former member of the foreign policy advisory panel to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. On October 5, 2017, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to a felony charge of mak ...
during the campaign about his discussions with Russian government officials. Miller and Sessions were described as the chief champions of the Trump administration's decision to start to separate migrant children from their parents when they crossed the U.S. border. Miller argued that such a policy would deter migrants from coming to the United States. Miller held a meeting at the White House to pressure
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
officials to prosecute border crossers as criminals, which was used as the basis for separating families. In April 2018, Miller and Gene Hamilton wrote a
Presidential memorandum A presidential memorandum (from Latin ''memorare'', 'to remember') is a type of directive issued by the president of the United States to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the various departments and agencies found under ...
directing agencies to end
catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture the fish is Fish hook, unhooked and returned live to the water. Originally adopted in the United Kingdom by Coarse fishing, coarse fishermen to Overfishing, preser ...
. They also wrote a letter by Attorney General Sessions, articulating a "zero tolerance" policy, which aimed to prosecute all adults who were arrested by DHS for illegal entry. Miller told the ''Times'' that voters would support the White House "90-10". After Miller gave an on-the-record interview to the ''Times'', the White House requested that the ''Times'' not publish portions of it on its podcast, '' The Daily''; the ''Times'' acceded to the request. In July 2018, senior White House official Jennifer Arangio was fired after she reportedly advocated that the United States remain in the Global Compact for Migration (a United Nations plan intended to "cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner"), defended the State Department's refugee bureau when Miller sought to defund it, and corrected misleading information about refugees that Miller was presenting to Trump. In the lead-up to the
2018 midterm elections Elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during incumbent Republican president Donald Trump's first term. Although the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate, Democratic incum ...
, Miller played an influential role in Trump's messaging, which focused on sowing fears about immigration. Trump's party lost 40 seats in the House in those elections, in part because, according to '' Vox'' writer Dara Lind, Trump and Miller's "closing argument" focusing on immigrants appealed solely to "
white identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, social background, political affiliation, caste, age, education, disability, opinion, i ...
", which did not have majority support in the United States. In January 2019, Miller reportedly reduced the number of immigrants who would receive protections as part of a proposed offer by Trump to grant protections for some immigrants in exchange for congressional support for funds to construct a border wall. Miller reportedly played a central role in
Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, principal White House deputy chief of staff ...
's resignation on April 7, 2019, as part of a larger department overhaul aimed at steering the Trump administration towards a "tougher" approach on immigration. Nielsen had opposed a plan Miller supported whereby the Trump administration would carry out mass arrests of undocumented immigrant families in 10 major U.S. cities. ''
Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
'' reported that Miller had been purposely leaking information on border apprehensions and asylum seekers to the ''
Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...
'' so that the paper would publish alarming anti-immigration stories that criticized Nielsen. Nielsen's resignation was followed by a purge initiated by Miller in the DHS, which led to the removals of Ronald Vitiello, the acting director of
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
(ICE) and Francis Cissna, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services. This allowed Miller to move loyalists into the agency such as Matthew Albence, who became the acting ICE director. In the wake of the United States' assassination of
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...
, Miller allegedly suggested "dipping l-Baghdadi's headin pig's blood and parading it around to warn other terrorists", according to former defense secretary
Mark Esper Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing/high-tech executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as ...
in his 2022 book '' A Sacred Oath''. Esper called Miller's idea a "
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
"; Miller denied that this took place. While in the Trump administration, Miller met repeatedly with British Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
, whom Miller described himself as a "huge fan" of. During the meetings, which were held off the White House grounds, Miller and Johnson "swapped speech-writing ideas and tips". In October 2019, Miller was against the resignation of acting Secretary of Homeland Security
Kevin McAleenan Kevin Kealoha McAleenan (born September 5, 1971) is an American attorney and government official who served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019. McAleenan served as the U.S. Customs and Border ...
. In 2019, Miller started collaborating with
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...
, who was given portfolio over immigration; with Miller writing the parts of Kushner's immigration plan that address asylum and family detention. In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, leaked conversations showed that Miller wanted to extend temporary border restrictions imposed because of the pandemic to restrict immigration in the long term. Emails showed that Miller had tried to use public health powers to implement border restrictions in 2019. Miller also advised Trump not to openly embrace mask-wearing to halt the spread of the
coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...
. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', in the spring of 2020, Miller requested that the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
develop a plan to use American troops to seal the entire U.S. border with Mexico. Government officials estimated that such a plan would require the deployment of approximately 250,000 troops, or more than half of the active army, constituting the largest use of American military force within the country since the Civil War. Defense Secretary
Mark Esper Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing/high-tech executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as ...
reportedly opposed the plan and it was eventually abandoned. During the 2020 election, Miller said that if Trump were reelected, the administration would seek to limit asylum, target
sanctuary city A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law. Proponents of sanctuary cities cite motives such as reducing the fear of persons which illegally immigrated fr ...
policies, expand the "travel ban" and cut work visas. He voiced support for the administration's third-country "Asylum Cooperative" agreements with Central American governments, among other policies, and pledged that it would pursue such policies with African and Asian countries if reelected.


Attempts to overturn the 2020 election

After Trump lost the 2020 election and failed to get the result overturned in courts or state legislatures, on December 14, Miller described on television a plan to send "alternate" slates of electors to Congress. That day, as the official
Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
votes were being tallied, groups of self-appointed Republican " alternate electors" met in seven swing states and drafted fraudulent certificates of ascertainment. Since these alternate slates were not signed by the governors or secretaries of state of the states they claim to represent, they had no legal status, but could have been introduced as challenges to the true results when Congress counted the electoral votes on January 6, 2021. The watchdog group American Oversight published the documents in March 2021, but they received little attention until January 2022, when it was reported that the
January 6 committee The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (commonly referred to as the January 6th Committee) was a select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives established to investig ...
was investigating them. Michigan attorney general
Dana Nessel Dana Michelle Nessel (born April 19, 1969) is an American politician and lawyer, serving as the Michigan Attorney General#List of Attorneys General of Michigan, 54th Michigan Attorney General, attorney general of Michigan since January 2019. She ...
announced in January 2022 that after a months-long investigation she had asked the
U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
to open a criminal investigation. On January 6, Trump held a rally to support his false claim that the 2020 election had been stolen. Miller prepared the remarks that Trump delivered at the rally. During and after the speech, many of the attendees walked to the U.S. Capitol and stormed it.


Leaked emails

In November 2019, the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
acquired more than 900 emails Miller sent ''
Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (; known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentar ...
'' writer Katie McHugh between 2015 and 2016. The emails became the basis for an exposé that showed that Miller had enthusiastically pushed the views of
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
publications such as ''
American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...
'' and
VDARE VDARE was an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech. Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism ...
, as well as the far-right conspiracy website '' Infowars'', and promoted ''
The Camp of the Saints ''The Camp of the Saints'' () is a 1973 French dystopian fiction novel by author and explorer Jean Raspail. A speculative fictional account, it depicts the destruction of Western civilization through Third World mass immigration to France and ...
'', a French novel circulating among
neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...
, shaping both White House policy and ''Breitbart''s coverage of racial politics. In response to the exposé, White House press secretary
Stephanie Grisham Stephanie Ann Grisham (née Sommerville; born July 23, 1976) is an American former White House official who was the 32nd White House press secretary and served as White House communications director from July 2019 to April 2020. She was chief of ...
called the SPLC an "utterly discredited, long-debunked far-left smear organization." More than 80 Democratic members of Congress called for Miller's resignation in light of his emails. On November 13, Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...
(D-New York) started a petition that had reached more than 20,000 signatures by November 16. According to ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', seven "senior Trump administration officials with knowledge of Miller's standing with the president and top staffers have all individually told ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' that the story did not endanger Miller's position, or change Trump's favorable view of him. Two of them literally laughed at the mere suggestion that the Hatewatch exposé could have toppled or hobbled the top Trump adviser." In July 2020, Miller was added on the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
's list of extremists. In April 2019, Representative
Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Represen ...
called Miller a
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
as part of her comments on the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
overhaul, which led to a strong response from several Republicans, including Representative
Lee Zeldin Lee Michael Zeldin (born January 30, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and officer in the United States Army Reserve who has been serving as the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since January 29, 2025. A m ...
and Donald Trump Jr., who accused her of
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
as Miller is Jewish. Following the exposé by the Southern Poverty Law Center in November 2019, Omar reshared the April tweet in which she had called Miller a white nationalist, adding that "now we have the emails to prove it".


Between administrations (2021–2025)

On April7, 2021, Miller launched the America First Legal Foundation, a conservative legal organization. The foundation was previously listed as a supporter of
Project 2025 Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is a political initiative to reshape the federal government of the United States and consolidate executive power in favor of right-wing policies. The plan was published in ...
and appeared on its advisory board, though the group later asked to be removed from it. Miller himself appeared on a promotional video for Project 2025. The foundation has filed dozens of lawsuits regarding topics including immigration,
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
,
affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
and
transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...
. On September8, 2022, Miller and
Brian Jack Brian Timothy Jack (born February 17, 1988) is an American political advisor and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from Georgia’s 3rd congressional district since 2025. Previously, he served as White House Political Director ...
were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating
attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election After Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee and then-incumbent president Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented ...
, with special focus on the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...
. In 2023, Miller was key to pushing Republican lawmakers to insert tougher border policies into a spending bill. On October27, 2024, Miller gave a speech at the Donald Trump campaign rally in Madison Square Garden, where he said Trump would "stand up and say the cartels are gone, the criminal migrants are gone, the gangs are gone, America is for Americans and Americans only".


Second Trump administration (2025–present)

On November 13, 2024, Trump confirmed Miller would serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and
Homeland Security Advisor The assistant to the president for homeland security, commonly referred to as the Homeland Security Advisor, is a senior aide in the National Security Council, based in the West Wing of the White House, who serves as principal advisor to the pres ...
. Miller met with
Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...
CEO
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
in January 2025, pushing him to adopt policies more favorable to Trump. He has been described as having developed a close relationship with
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
. Miller has been described as one of the most powerful officials during Trump's second term. Miller has been a key official behind Trump administration's "flood the zone" strategy, aiming to overwhelm Trump's opponents with an onslaught of new directives and policy announcements. Miller drafted or coordinated most of the executive orders signed by Trump on his first day in office, including attempts to end birthright citizenship,
withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization Executive Order 14155, titled "Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization", is an executive order signed by United States president Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, during the first day of his second presidential term. Th ...
and the designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. In February 2025, Miller and Peter Navarro were leading officials in the economic discussions regarding the imposition of tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico. Miller has been given significant influence over the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, with Attorney General
Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi ( ; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Fl ...
taking a largely implementing role. Miller has criticized federal judges as "Marxist judges" and claimed they were carrying out a "judicial coup" by restricting the powers of the US president. In April 2025, Miller became a leading official in the Trump administration's actions against higher education, revoking federal funding to universities to demand policy changes. In May 2025, Miller said regarding immigration cases that "the writ of ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
'' can be suspended in a time of invasion", and that the Trump administration was "actively looking at" carrying out such a suspension, depending on "whether the courts do the right thing or not";
Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consist ...
forbids such a suspension "unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." He later visited the headquarters of the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...
in May, calling for officials to increase the pace of deportations. Miller and Secretary of State
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...
were involved in the preparations to revoke visas of Chinese students in the United States and increase restrictions on them. Later in May, Rubio announced the U.S. government would "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
or studying in critical fields" and also announced the U.S. would increase scrutiny of all future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.


Media appearances

On February 8, 2016, Miller participated in an interview with ''InfoWars'', during which he praised the site and its owner,
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...
, for its coverage of immigration and the
Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietn ...
. In a February 2017 appearance on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
' ''
Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and Sunday morning talk show, morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and Television broadcasting, television network. Created by Frank Stanton (executive), Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Fa ...
'', Miller criticized the federal courts for blocking Trump's travel ban, accusing the judiciary of having "taken far too much power and become, in many cases, a supreme branch of government ... Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned." Miller's assertion was met with criticism from legal experts, such as Ilya Shapiro of the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...
(who said that the administration's comments could undercut public confidence in the judiciary) and
Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...
professor
Jens David Ohlin Jens David Ohlin is an American legal scholar, currently serving as the 17th dean of Cornell Law School since July 2021. Education Ohlin completed his high school education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Ohlin received a Bachel ...
(who said that the statement showed "an absurd lack of appreciation for the
separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
" set forth in the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
). In the same appearance, Miller falsely said there was significant voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election and that "thousands of illegal voters were bused in" to
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. Miller did not provide any evidence in support of the statements; ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''s Glenn Kessler found that Miller has on multiple occasions made false or unsubstantiated claims regarding
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
. On January 7, 2018, Miller appeared on
Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show ''The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program ''State of ...
's ''
State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...
'' on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
. In the course of the interview, Miller called
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
's comments about the
Trump Tower meeting Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in Michael Wolff's book '' Fire and Fury'' "grotesque". Miller then went on to state, "The president is a political genius... who took down the Bush dynasty, who took down the Clinton dynasty, who took down the entire media complex". Tapper accused Miller of dodging questions, while Miller questioned the legitimacy of CNN as a news broadcaster, and as the interview became more contentious, with both participants talking over each other, Tapper ended the interview and continued to the next news story. After the interview was over, Miller refused to leave the CNN studio and had to be escorted out by security. In February 2019, as a controversy arose from a declaration of
national emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
by Trump in order to fund building a wall along the southern border with Mexico that had been denied by Congress, Miller defended the declaration during a televised interview by
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 60-year care ...
.


Debate with Jim Acosta

On August 2, 2017, Miller had a heated exchange with
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's
Jim Acosta Abilio James Acosta (born April 17, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist. From 2007 to 2025, he worked for CNN. He served as CNN's chief White House correspondent during the Obama and first Trump administrations, in which he gained natio ...
at the White House daily briefing regarding the Trump administration's support for the
RAISE Act The RAISE (Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment) Act is a bill first introduced in the United States Senate in 2017. Co-sponsored by Republican senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, the bill sought to reduce levels of legal imm ...
to sharply limit legal immigration and favor immigrants with high English proficiency. Acosta said that the proposal was at odds with American traditions concerning immigration and said that the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
welcomes immigrants to the U.S., invoking verses from
Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgism, Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which wa ...
's "
The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...
". Miller disputed the connection between the Statue of Liberty and immigration, pointing out that "the poem that you're referring to, that was added later, is not actually a part of the original Statue of Liberty." Miller added that immigration has "ebbed and flowed" throughout American history and asked how many immigrants the U.S. had to accept annually to "meet Jim Acosta's definition of the Statue of Liberty law of the land." In their coverage, multiple publications (such as ''The Washington Post'', ''
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
'' and '' U.S. News & World Report'') commented that the distinction Miller made between the Statue of Liberty and Lazarus's poem has been a popular talking point among the
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
segments of the
alt-right The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...
. The ''Post''s Michelle Ye Hee Lee stated that "Neither got it quite right about the Statue of Liberty ... While the poem itself was not a part of the original statue, it actually was commissioned in 1883 to help raise funds for the pedestal" and "gave another layer of meaning to the statue beyond its
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
message."


Political views

Miller's politics have been described as
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
and
anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
. Miller rejects the view that immigration strengthens the United States.


Personal life

Miller married
Katie Waldman Katie Rose Miller (née Waldman; born October 1991) is an American political advisor who served as an advisor and spokeswoman to the Department of Government Efficiency from January to May 2025 when she departed DOGE to work for Elon Musk privat ...
, a fellow Trump administration official, on February 16, 2020. They have a daughter, born shortly after the November 2020 election, and sons born in February 2022 and September 2023. Miller is Jewish. On August 13, 2018, ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' published an essay by Miller's uncle, David S. Glosser, titled "Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I'm His Uncle", in which he detailed the Glosser family's history of coming to the United States from the village of
Antopal Antopal or Antopol is an urban-type settlement in Drahichyn District, Brest Region, Belarus. It is located near the towns of Kobryn and Brest. As of 2025, it has a population of 1,401. Antopol is situated in the Polesian Lowland near the ri ...
in present-day
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. Public disclosures showed Miller as the vice president until 2016 of California Villages, a brand owned by Cordary Inc, a real estate company his parents owned.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Stephen 1985 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians American conspiracy theorists American male non-fiction writers American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent American political writers American speechwriters American white nationalists Anti-immigration activists Anti-immigration politics in the United States California Republicans Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni First Trump administration personnel Jewish American non-fiction writers People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election People associated with the 2020 United States presidential election People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election People from Santa Monica, California Santa Monica High School alumni Second Trump administration personnel Senior advisors to the president of the United States United States congressional aides White House directors of speechwriting