Stephen Miller | |
|---|---|
(b).jpg) Miller in 2025 | |
| White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Chief of Staff | Susie Wiles |
| Preceded by | Bruce Reed |
| 12th United States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Anthony Salisbury |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall |
| Senior Advisor to the President | |
| In office January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | |
| White House Director of Speechwriting | |
| In office January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Cody Keenan |
| Succeeded by | Vinay Reddy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1985-08-23)August 23, 1985 (age 40) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Duke University (BA) |
Miller speaking on media coverage of thedeportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Recorded May 1, 2025 | |
Stephen N. Miller (born August 23, 1985) is an American political advisor serving asWhite House deputy chief of staff for policy andhomeland security advisor since 2025. He previously served assenior advisor to the president anddirector of speechwriting from 2017 to 2021 during thefirst Trump administration. Considered one of the most influential figures of the Trump administrations andTrumpism movement, his politics have been described asfar-right,[1]anti-immigration,[2][3] andwhite nationalist.[4][5][6]
Miller grew up inSanta Monica, California, and attendedDuke University, where he was a columnist forThe Chronicle and president of the Duke chapter ofStudents for Academic Freedom. After graduating in 2007, he worked as press secretary for US representativesMichele Bachmann andJohn Shadegg. In 2009, he joined the staff ofAlabama senatorJeff Sessions, where he worked on immigration policy and helped defeat theBorder Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. As an aide to Sessions, Miller influenced the direction ofBreitbart News. He advised both of Trump's presidential campaigns. After Trump's loss in the2020 election, Miller foundedAmerica First Legal, a conservative legal advocacy organization, in 2021.
Miller has been a central figure in the Trump administration's immigration policy, including thefamily separation policy andExecutive Order 13769, which restricted travel from several Muslim-majority countries. As director of speechwriting, he supervised the writing of Trump's inaugural and State of the Union addresses. Miller is on theSouthern Poverty Law Center's list of extremists.[7][8][9]
Stephen N. Miller[10] was born on August 23, 1985,[11] in the affluent North of Montana neighborhood inSanta Monica, California,[12] the second of three children[13] of Miriam (née Glosser) and Michael Miller.[14][a] Miller is ofAshkenazi Jewish descent.[16] His family's lineage escapedRussian pogroms and theHolocaust.[17]
Miller's mother, Miriam, was aColumbia University graduate and became a social worker.[14] She grew up in a family ofNew Deal Democrats,[18] but according to biographers, like the majority of the era's Californians,[14] had conservative views.[19] Miller's father, Michael, was alawyer and worked in the Miller family real estate business.[20] In 1998, when Miller was thirteen, his parents sold their home and bought a smaller home in a less affluent area.[21]
Miller went toHebrew school at Beth Shir Shalom, where classmates thought of him as a contrarian.[18]
In 1999, he began attendingSanta Monica High School.[22] Miller opposed his high school's chapter of theChicano Student Movement of Aztlán and was described by the chapter founder as having taunted immigrants; he reportedly insisted to other students and teachers that they speak English.[23] Miller called into talk-radio'sTheLarry Elder Show (1993–2008; 2010–2014) and successfully brought the host to his high school.[24] He later appeared on Elder's show after theSeptember 11 attacks to describe an incident in which a Canadian teacher placed theflag of the United States on the floor and discussed its importance. Although other students remembered otherwise, Miller alleged that the teacher had dragged the flag across the floor and trampled over it.[25] By his count, Miller appeared on the Elder show sixty-nine times and their relationship continued for years.[26]
He wasconfirmed at the Santa Monica Synagogue, aReform temple.[18] At Santa Monica, Miller garnered attention and was lampooned in anApril Fools' Day issue of the school newspaper,The Samohi. In 2002, he ran for student announcer, giving a speech in which he questioned being told to pick up trash when the school hired custodians. The student body disapproved of Miller's comments and he lost the election. Miller was involved in the school's band program, tennis, religious studies, and political and youth groups.[27]Jean Guerrero writes that his favorite musician wasElvis Presley and favorite film was Martin Scorsese'sCasino (1995).[28] Guerrero writes that at times he copied the look ofRobert De Niro portraying a mobster,[29] and that he dressed up like the movies for trips toLas Vegas where he was a skilledcraps player.[30] During high school and continuing into university, Miller often wore a suit.[31] He told Elder that he liked to make a good first impression.[32] As an adult, he continued to wear expensive, American-made, bespoke suits.[33]
Conservative writerDavid Horowitz heard Miller onThe Larry Elder Show. Horowitz became another long-term relationship for Miller[34] who invited him to speak at his high school. Horowitz reciprocated, inviting Miller to his home.[35] Miller made several demands in an article on Horowitz's website,FrontPage Magazine. He asked for the school's culture to embrace "inclusive patriotism", in contrast tomulticulturalism and that his school institute thePledge of Allegiance five days a week.[36] The school instituted the pledge, which Miller reported as a "huge victory".[36] He wrote that Santa Monica's principal and its district superintendent blamed Miller for having caused a tax increase initiative to fail. According to Miller's article, the principal distributed a memorandum to teachers, ordering them to discuss theIraq War in a neutral and balanced manner.[37] In Guerrero's estimation, by his graduation in 2003, Miller had received more publicity than "probably any other student in class".[38]
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Miller began attendingDuke University in 2003[27] to study political science.[39] In 2004, outraged at Duke's decision to schedule aPalestine Solidarity Movement conference, Miller founded the university's chapter of Horowitz'sStudents for Academic Freedom and rallied students to oppose the conference.[40] The following year, he was the author of a column inThe Duke Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper, titled "Miller Time." Miller continued to critique multiculturalism. His combative debate strategy, particularly in his column, earned Miller a reputation for pugnacity.[41] Miller invited Horowitz to speak at Duke, who in turn named Miller to lead the Terrorism Awareness Project, an initiative that conflatedMuslims andArabs with terrorists. Miller appeared onFox & Friends (1998–present) to promote the effort.[42]
In the aftermath of theDuke lacrosse rape hoax, Miller defended the three members of theDuke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team who were accused of rape, arguing that they had been presumed guilty for being white males. He appeared onNancy Grace (2005–2016) to further advocate for the lacrosse players.[43] After reports emerged that the accuser,Crystal Mangum, had concealed the results of a negativeDNA test, Miller continued to discuss the issue, condemning an advertisement that noted the persistent fear of students "who know themselves to be objects of racism and sexism" in an interview withBill O'Reilly onThe O'Reilly Factor (1996–2017).[44] Miller later toldMcKay Coppins ofThe Atlantic that his support of the players was his greatest college achievement.[33]
By junior year, Miller had joined the Duke Conservative Union. He had become the organization's executive director by the beginning of his senior year, a position that allowed him to fundraise.[45] Through the union, Miller metRichard B. Spencer, who later became known as a white supremacist.[b] The two organized an immigration debate in March 2007.[46]
Although he toldNancy Grace he wanted to be a prosecutor and that Horowitz knew that he would like to be a senator,[47] Miller skipped his scheduledLSAT that was required for law school admission applications. Later, Miller said he was focused on establishing amemorial for the September 11 attacks.[39]
After graduating from Duke University, Miller traveled acrossEurasia, including embarking on aBirthright Israel trip.[48] Through David Horowitz,[49] Miller began working forMinnesota representativeMichele Bachmann by December 2007[50] as her press secretary.[49] He moved toWashington, D.C., where his family had assisted him in purchasing aUS$450,000 condominium.[49] By 2009, Miller—and Horowitz—had become disillusioned with Bachmann. Horowitz referred Miller toArizona representativeJohn Shadegg. Miller participated inTea Party protests againstBarack Obama with Shadegg. Horowitz recommended him again and in June 2009, Miller began working forAlabama senatorJeff Sessions as his press secretary.[51] Miller sought to legitimize his criticisms of immigration and garner a larger audience; he formed relationships with anti-immigration organizations, including theCenter for Immigration Studies, theFederation for American Immigration Reform, andNumbersUSA.[52] Miller became Session's communications manager by August 2014.[39] He metSteve Bannon andAndrew Breitbart—both men recognized Miller from his rebukes of his high school—and Bannon became an enduring ally.[53] That year, his parents helped him purchase aUS$1 million condominium inCityCenterDC.[33]
As a communications aide to Sessions, Miller worked to influence the editorial coverage ofBreitbart News.[54] He sent editors links to the far-right websiteVDARE and the white-supremacist online-only magazineAmerican Renaissance;[55] Miller's efforts legitimizedBreitbart's language inCongress[56] and influencedThe Daily Caller's immigration coverage.[57] Miller, joined by Sessions, mounted a successful campaign to disparage theBorder Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, an immigration reform bill proposed by fourDemocratic senators and fourRepublican senators known as theGang of Eight. The bill passed in the Democratic-controlledSenate, but was not considered in the Republican-controlledHouse of Representatives after Miller brought House staffers a binder with talking points and research he had conducted.[58] Miller assistedDave Brat in mounting a primary challenge to defeatVirginia representativeEric Cantor, who was serving asHouse majority leader at the time.[39] In January 2015, Miller and Sessions authoredImmigration Handbook for the New Republican Majority, a rebuttal tothe Republican Party's post-mortem afterMitt Romney's loss in the2012 presidential election.[59]
In November 2019, Katie McHugh, former editor of theSouthern Poverty Law Center website, published a summary of approximately nine hundred emails from Miller that were sent toBreitbart News from March 2015 to June 2016. Correspondences between Miller and McHugh show a shared concern that Mexican survivors ofHurricane Patricia could be grantedtemporary protected status—an exchange in which Miller included a link to VDARE, and that e-commerce websites had removedConfederate merchandise in the aftermath of theCharleston church shooting—an article that appeared later onBreitbart. Miller urgedBreitbart editors to readThe Camp of the Saints (1973), a novel that depicts the destruction ofWestern civilization through mass immigration;Julia Hahn reviewed the book forBreitbart.[60] Kurt Bardella, a former spokesman forBreitbart, described Miller as "almost ade facto assignment editor". The Southern Poverty Law Center later obtained additional emails in which Miller linked an article from a think tank about an apparent increase in the number of newborns named "Mohammed", a story that appeared onBreitbart the following day, and an email in which Miller praised the work of the anti-immigration commentatorJason Richwine.[61] Miller sought to disparageFlorida senatorMarco Rubio.[62]
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In June 2015, businessmanDonald Trump declaredhis candidacy in the2016 presidential election.[63] Trump'sviews on race interested Miller;[64] in an interview withJulie Hirschfeld Davis andMichael D. Shear forBorder Wars (2019), Miller felt that Trump "doubled down, breaking that apology-retreat cycle" and giving confidence to a customarily dissatisfied populace.[65] Miller was particularly invested in defeating Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a member of the Gang of Eight who wasrunning for president.Breitbart News's Matthew Boyle referred Miller toSam Nunberg, a political consultant working for the Trump campaign. Despite a recommendation from Sessions,Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, was reluctant to hire Miller. Nonetheless, Miller contributed to the campaign without its support. He prepared Trump's immigration policies.[66]
In January 2016, Miller joined Trump'spresidential campaign as a senior policy advisor.[67] He began writing speeches for Trump atSteve Bannon's behest[59] and with encouragement from Trump's son-in-law,Jared Kushner.[68] Miller intensified Trump's language, often embedding the term "radical Islam" into his speeches.[69] In February, Sessions became the first senator to endorse Trump,[70] damaging the rival campaign ofTexas senatorTed Cruz.[71] Miller's interview with theBreitbart News Daily (2015–present) hostBrandon Darby the following month influenced theNational Border Patrol Council's decision to endorse Trump.[72]
By March, Miller was opening act for Trump at rallies.[39] He wrote Trump's acceptance speech at the2016 Republican National Convention[73] and served as the campaign's policy liaison to the convention.[39] Miller assisted Trump in preparing for debates withHillary Clinton.[74] After the convention, the campaign switched to ateleprompter and elevated Miller to Trump's principal speechwriter.[75] By August, he had become Trump's national policy director. That month, Miller was appointed to lead an economic team.[76]Politico described Miller as an "instrumental advisor for Trump on the issue" of immigration.[77] Bannon later convinced Trump to not deviate from speeches written by him and Miller.[78] After Trump won the 2016 election, Miller retained his role as national policy director for thetransition.[79] He led much of the policy work to prepare for Trump'sfirst one hundred days.[80] Trump chose Miller to write hisinaugural address.[81]
In December 2016, Trump named Miller as hissenior advisor to the president for policy.[82] His role was later clarified to have oversight over theDomestic Policy Council.[82] Miller is an unelected advisor[83] and his positions do not require Senate confirmation.[84] Bannon and Miller co-wrote many of Trump's initialexecutive orders,[85] including the order that instituted theMuslim travel ban.[86] The Trump White House had two ideological factions: the Washington wing centered onchief of staffReince Priebus andpress secretarySean Spicer, and the Breitbart wing around Miller and Bannon.[87] According toPolitico, allies of Priebus were "wary" of Miller, among other aides critical of moderating Trump's politics.[88] Miller led aprincipals committee meeting on immigration in January 2017, according to theLos Angeles Times.[89] Miller's dominant position in developing Trump'simmigration policy garnered him criticism.[87]
In February 2017,The New York Times reported that Trump had urged Priebus to implement conventional protocols, including limiting Bannon and Miller's unfettered access, after reports that other Trump officials were not briefed about the travel ban order until it had already been signed.[90] Miller wrote Trump'sspeech to ajoint session of Congress that month.[91] He sought to purge thefederal government ofBarack Obama's political appointees.[92] The dynamics of Miller's influence in theTrump administration shifted by April as Bannon entered into conflict with Jared Kushner; Miller informed colleagues that he was not affiliated with Bannon. That month, he began to work withOffice of American Innovation, led by Kushner, and began focusing on energy and regulatory issues.[93] Miller remained an ally of Bannon.[94]
Miller supported thedismissal of James Comey, thedirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,[95] and drafted the letter firing him.[96] He and Bannon were allegedly responsible for removing a line in Trump's speech before the2017 Brussels NATO summit mentioning Article 5 of theNorth Atlantic Treaty,[97] leading to a dispute withH. R. McMaster, thenational security advisor.[98] In June,Politico reported that secretary of stateRex Tillerson had sparred with Miller over immigration after Miller told Tillerson that theDepartment of State should be tougher on immigration.[99] Prior to assuming the position of chief of staff,John F. Kelly worked to develop a relationship with Miller.[100] In August, Miller publicly sparred withCNN'sJim Acosta—whom he accused of "cosmopolitan bias"—in a press briefing for theRAISE Act.[101] Days later,Reuters reported that Miller was a contender forWhite House communications director, succeedingAnthony Scaramucci.[102]
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In Kelly'sWhite House Office, Miller was largely successful in influencing Trump.[103] Previously when Kelly was thesecretary of homeland security, Miller unsuccessfully supported appointment of the presidents of employee unions with no supervisory experience to agency heads (ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement andU.S. Customs and Border Protection). Consequently, Miller and his allies blocked Kelly in naming Alan Metzler as his chief of staff, who instead offered the position toKirstjen Nielsen.Elaine Duke succeeded Kelly as the acting secretary of homeland security. Miller opposed appointing Duke to the position permanently.[104] He advocated for pardoningJoe Arpaio, the sheriff ofMaricopa County who was convicted ofcontempt of court, securinghis release from prison.[105]
In September, Trump announced a gradual end toDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),[106] a program that Miller had encouraged Trump to end.[107]The New York Times reported that Miller had been advocating for adjusting the refugee quota established in theRefugee Act from 110,000—set by Obama before he left office—to 15,000.[108] Though Trump later stated he would work withDemocrats on a deal to restore DACA and he planned to set the quota at 45,000 refugees, Miller's efforts had an impact on immigration policy.[109] He outlined several hard-line immigration proposals, including hiring ten thousand immigration enforcement agents, in a draft that month, after Trump had reached a tentative agreement with Senate minority leaderChuck Schumer and House minority leaderNancy Pelosi on DACA.[110]
In January 2018, asa federal government shutdown neared over disputes involving DACA, Trump privately stated that he was willing to negotiate to extend legal status to immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children; in response, Kelly and Miller rejected a deal unless it was attached to austere immigration restrictions.[111] Republican negotiators accused Miller of preventing a deal from being struck.[112] Miller wrote that year'sState of the Union Address.[113] He advocated for a veto of theConsolidated Appropriations Act, a bill that would fundthat fiscal year, over funds for theTrump wall, pointing to the possibility of a Republican loss inthat year's elections.[114] Miller worked against the Department of State'sBureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.[115] After Kelly Sadler was dismissed over comments she made about the political viability and mortalityArizona senatorJohn McCain—who was suffering from brain cancer—Miller hadJulia Hahn appointed to cover her communications work in order to advance Trump's hardline immigration messaging.[116] Miller sought to garner support for a bill paralleling his immigration framework in June.[117]
Miller was an advocate for the Trump administration'sfamily separation policy.[118] In April, he was "instrumental" in Trump's decision to intensify enforcement of the policy, according toThe New York Times, and was critical to Trump's endorsement.[119] The policy incited controversy, including an internal conflict,[120] targeted towards Miller in June.[121] Amid the backlash, Miller continued to lead a plan to use executive authority and rule changes to institute an immigration crackdown ahead of that year's elections, believing immigration to be a key issue.[122] He conducted meetings privately, in fear of "hostile bureaucrats" leaking policies, according toPolitico.[123] That month, theSupreme Court affirmed the Muslim travel ban; chief justiceJohn Roberts supported Miller's assertion that the president could useSection 212(f) of theImmigration and Nationality Act to "suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens" through any necessary means.[124] In an effort to quell outcry, Trump signed an executive order ending the practice of family separation.[125]
According to theFinancial Times, Miller sought to ban student visas for Chinese nationals, but his efforts were halted byTerry Branstad, theambassador to China.[126] In August,The New York Times reported that the Trump administration was considering a second reduction in the refugee quota. TheTimes noted that opponents of Miller—including Tillerson and Duke—had been ousted in favor of anti-immigrant officials, giving Miller's plan a greater chance of success.[127] He privately urged Trump to continue on his border wall.[128] In September, secretary of stateMike Pompeo announced that the quota would be set at 30,000.[129] That month, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule denyinglawful permanent residency to immigrants who have received government benefits, such as theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,Medicare, andSection 8.[130] The volume of immigration actions the following month—the deployment of federal troops to theMexico–United States border and proposed executive action on blocking theCentral American migrant caravans and endingbirthright citizenship—was described by a Republican close to the White House as "a dream come true" for Miller.[131]
Asa second federal government shutdown in December 2018 neared over funding the Trump wall, Miller publicly stated that the Trump administration would "do whatever is necessary" to build the border wall, including shutting down the government.[132] In a meeting to resolve the shutdown, Kushner defended Miller as an expert on the subject of immigration,[133] though Kushner's support for legal immigration led to a conflict with Miller.[134] Miller's influence with Trump led to concerns from senior Republican aides that he could convince Trump that accepting a compromise would amount to humiliation.[135] Trump worked onthat year's State of the Union address with Miller, who took a more active role in speechwriting.[136]
Miller opposedRonald Vitiello's nomination asdirector of Immigration and Customs Enforcement[137] and Nielsen's tenure as secretary of homeland security;[138] Trump withdrew Vitiello as his nominee[137] and Nielsen was ousted within a two-day timespan in April.[138] The departures, includingRandolph Alles asdirector of Secret Service, continued in the following days in a mass purge across the Department of Homeland Security, in whatThe New York Times described as a signal of Miller's "enduring influence".[139] Miller leveraged the uncertainty to pursue an aggressive immigration policy, pressuring mid-level officials at federal departments and agencies to be more vigorous in halting immigration.[140] He pushed for the purge to continue and for several immigration policies, including housing migrants in border tent cities and extending detention times, to be implemented.[141] The purge led to concerns about Miller's authority from congressional Republicans, includingTexas senatorJohn Cornyn.[142] According toThe New York Times, Miller orchestrated the purge.[143]Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, resisted Miller's continued efforts to dismiss officials.[144] Miller was influential in Trump's decision to nameKen Cuccinelli as the acting director ofCitizenship and Immigration Services.[145]
Miller advocated for theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development to force the eviction of undocumented immigrants.[146] In June, Trump imposed tariffs onMexico over the border crisis, a suggestion that had been offered by Miller andPeter Navarro, the director of theOffice of Trade and Manufacturing Policy.[83] The following month, Citizenship and Immigration Services issueda regulation favoring wealthier immigrants for lawful permanent residency, an initiative Miller had led.[147] In September, Miller sought to further reduce the refugee quota.[148] In December, he developed a plan to use information theDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS) had on migrant children to target them and their families for deportation. The plan would have also embedded immigration enforcement agents in the department'sOffice of Refugee Resettlement. The effort was rejected by officials at the Department of Health and Human Services.[149]
Miller led speechwriting for the2020 State of the Union Address, though he sought to temper his influence on its tone.[150] TheCOVID-19 pandemic provided opportunities for Miller to advance his immigration policies. The foundation for Miller's actions came in prior attempts to use the president's authority in relatively minor health emergencies.[151] In April, Trump suspended family-based immigration. Miller told conservative allies in a private conference call that the halt to immigration was one step in a broader plan.[152] Miller sought to influence HHS to delay the admission of migrant children into shelters run by HHS and to fingerprint adults in households where refugee children are released; his proposals were considered by the department's refugee office.[153]
In May, chief of staffMark Meadows suggested that Miller should serve as the acting director of theDomestic Policy Council afterJoe Grogan's resignation, though Kushner successfully proposedDerek Lyons instead.[154] After his wife Katie tested positive forCOVID-19 that month, Miller was forced to quarantine.[155] He continued to push for changes to immigration policy to follow up on Trump's order in April, raising the standard of proof for asylum seekers.[156] According to secretary of defenseMark Esper, he reportedly called for as many as a quarter of a million troops to be stationed at the border with Mexico.[157] Miller participated in debate preparation sessions againstJoe Biden.[158] In October, Miller was among those who tested positive for COVID-19 amidan outbreak of the virus at theWhite House.[159] Miller remained with Trump after theJanuary 6 Capitol attack;[160] he wrote the speech Trump gave preceding the attack.[161] Miller contributed to Trump's speech condemning the attack afterhis second impeachment.[162] In the final days of Trump's term, Miller continued to work to implement Trump's immigration policies.[163]
In October 2021, Trump assertedexecutive privilege over documents relating to Miller as theDepartment of Justice mountedan investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.[164] The Department of Justice subpoenaed Miller in September 2022.[165] In November, theHouse Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol subpoenaed Miller, citing hisfalse claims of fraud and his role in theTrump fake electors plot.[166] Miller filed a lawsuit to block the committee from accessing his phone records in March 2022, arguing that the subpoena would invade on his parents' privacy since he was on their family plan.[167] The following month, he privately testified before the committee over the speech Trump gave preceding the attack. Representatives pressed Miller on the use of the word "we" in potentially inciting the mob.[161] JudgeBeryl Howell compelled him to testify in March 2023,[168] a ruling that was reaffirmed by theCourt of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit weeks later.[169]
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In January 2021, after theinauguration of Joe Biden, Miller stated he was "focused on a variety of projects to advance theAmerica First agenda."[170] In March,Politico reported that Miller had begun formingAmerica First Legal, a conservative public interest organization. According toPolitico, Miller consulted theConservative Partnership Institute and lawyerKen Starr, who authored theStarr Report that led to theimpeachment of Bill Clinton, and requested funding fromChicago Cubs co-ownerTodd Ricketts.[171] He announced the organization in March[171] and established it the following month.[172] In February, Miller briefedRepublican Study Committee members.[173] He began advisingAlabama representativeMo Brooks in his campaign for the2022 Senate election, appearing at Brooks's campaign announcement the following month.[174]
In December, Miller began advisingBridgewater Associates chief executiveDave McCormick[175] He was courted by speaker of the HouseKevin McCarthy in his effort to garner support from theHouse of Representative's far-right members, particularly theFreedom Caucus.[176] In November 2023,The New York Times reported on a Miller-led initiative to appoint several lawyers to Trump's second term includingChad Mizelle andAaron Reitz,[177] and his plans to expand Trump'simmigration policy with raids, mass deportations, and larger detention facilities.[178]
Following the 2024 election,CNN reported that president-electDonald Trump was expected to name Miller as hisWhite House deputy chief of staff for policy.[179] Trump's choice was confirmed by vice president-electJD Vance onX hours later.[180] On November 13, Trump publicly announced that Miller would serve as his deputy chief of staff for policy and hishomeland security advisor.[84] Although his role was muted, Miller was expected to have significant influence over agency heads.[181]
He began educatingElon Musk on the federal bureaucracy;[182] the two men had found a common cause in describing undocumented immigrants as a threat to Western civilization.[183] Miller was an architect of Trump'simmigration policies in hissecond term,[184] and he oversaw a team writing initial executive orders.[183] His strategy involved using existing laws, such as theAlien Enemies Act, to quickly carry out deportations and avoid time-consuming hearings.[184] Additionally, he sought to reinstateTitle 42 expulsions.[185] Miller told advisers in Trump'spresidential transition not to express concern that immigration actions could yield litigation.[186]
Trump aides said Miller's clout at the Department of Justice (DOJ) was striking—a non-lawyer could hold sway over the attorney general.[187]Pam Bondi, Trump's nominee to serve asattorney general followingMatt Gaetz's withdrawal, successfully advocated for Trump to nominate her allyHillsborough County sheriffChad Chronister as hisadministrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Miller was critical of Chronister, who withdrew his nomination.[187] According to journalistsCarol Leonnig and Aaron Davis in their bookInjustice (2025), Miller pressured acting deputy attorney generalEmil Bove to act more vigorously in dismissing officials at theFederal Bureau of Investigation, citing the bureau's nominal director,Kash Patel.[188] Defying and contradicting DOJ court papers that asserted "administrative error", Miller told reporters in April 2025 thatKilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was not mistakenly deported.[189] The following month, he stated that the Trump administration was considering suspendinghabeas corpus for immigrants.[190] In May 2025,Axios reported that Miller and secretary of homeland securityKristi Noem had set an arrest quota of three thousand people per day;[191] DOJ later denied the existence of a quota in a court case overprotests in Los Angeles in June.[192]
Miller led Trump's federalization of theDistrict of Columbia National Guard.[193] After theassassination of Charlie Kirk, he appeared onThe Charlie Kirk Show—hosted by Vance—to vow that he would use the Department of Justice and theDepartment of Homeland Security to dismantle organizations involved in an alleged "vast domestic terror movement" responsible for Kirk's murder.[194] As homeland security advisor, Miller separated theHomeland Security Council from theNational Security Council, in a break from precedent. Miller, through the council, assumed a leading role—sometimes exceeding that of secretary of state and national security adviserMarco Rubio—in the United States's decision tostrike Venezuelan boats, according to anonymous sources as reported byThe Guardian and theNew York Times.[195][196] Miller was also tasked with ensuring that federal departments do not take actions that could damage relations with China, as reported by theFinancial Times.[197]
Miller's politics have been described asfar-right,[1] andanti-immigration.[2][3] AuthorJean Guerrero characterized his agenda aswhite nationalist.[198] Miller began identifying with ideologies associated withconservatism in the seventh grade.[33] Former high school classmates of Miller speculated toThe New York Times that Miller enjoyed contrarianism and confrontations. The conservative political commentatorLarry Elder toldThe New York Times that Miller had readAyn Rand andThe Federalist Papers in high school.[19] According to his former dormmates atDuke University, Miller described himself as alibertarian.[199] Miller supportedDonald Trump running for president as early as 2014.[200] In July 2020, theSouthern Poverty Law Center added Miller to its database of extremists.[8] AfterBarack Obama spoke at the2020 Democratic National Convention, Miller referred to him as "one of the worst presidents, if not the worst president, in U.S. history."[201]
Miller is an opponent ofillegal immigration. He has argued that documented and undocumented immigrants have expanded the U.S. labor market, leading to reduced wages.[202] In January 2017, Miller privately proposed eliminating the lottery process forH-1B visas in favor of a system that would give preference to visa petitions for high-salary jobs.[203] His uncle, neuropsychologist David S. Glosser, wrote an article inPolitico Magazine in August 2018 accusing Miller of hypocrisy for his anti-immigration stance.[204] As a communications aide toJeff Sessions, he opposedDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals as "mass backdoor amnesty".[205] Miller is a proponent of stricter asylum rules,[206] tellingFox News that Afghan refugees fleeing the country after the2021 Taliban offensive would bring chaos to the United States.[207] He defended Trump's decision to declare theNational Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States as sanctioned by theNational Emergencies Act.[208] Miller supported a "binary choice" model for thefamily separation policy in which families would be forced to decide whether they would 1) voluntarily allow separation from their children, or 2) waive their child's humanitarian protections allowing the family to be detained together without time restriction.[209] In Trump's second term, he spearheaded efforts to restrict Americans' ability to sponsor their close relatives for immigration.[210]
In May 2018, Miller blamedDemocrats for theMexico–United States border crisis.[211] Speaking in his "personal capacity" in October 2020, Miller described Democratic nominee Joe Biden's immigration policy as "a radical outlier in the whole of human civilization".[212] Tweeting hours afterBiden's inauguration, Miller criticized Biden for what he described as "opening travel from terror hot spots, proposing a giant amnesty, [and] halting the installation of security barriers along the Southwest border".[213] In January 2023, after Biden announced that he was moving to institute a major crackdown on immigration, Miller alleged that the president was seeking to "increase the foreign-born population of the United States as speedily as possible".[214] Miller repeated his sentiment after Biden extendedtemporary protected status to Venezuelans in September 2023.[215] Miller claimed "With a lot of these immigrant groups, not only is the first generation unsuccessful. (...) You see persistent issues in every subsequent generation. So you see consistent high rates of welfare use, consistent high rates of criminal activity, consistent failures to assimilate."[216] Debunked by an X community note, in 2026 Miller reacted to thekilling of Alex Pretti by border agents in Minneapolis with a tweet that a "would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement".[217]
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In high school after theSeptember 11 attacks, Miller wrote that he relished "the thought of watchingOsama Bin Laden being riddled to death with bullets".[218] InA Sacred Oath (2022), secretary of defenseMark Esper alleged that, in aSituation Room meeting convened over an operation tokill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and first leader of theIslamic State, Miller suggested taking Baghdadi's head, dipping it in pig's blood, and parading it around to warn other terrorists. Miller denied making those remarks and referred to Esper as a "moron".[219]
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As a columnist forDuke University's student newspaper,The Chronicle, Miller wrote on conservative themes including criticism of Hollywood and thewar on Christmas.[220]Miller referred to the whistleblower who revealed the call between Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump that led toa scandal and Trump'simpeachment as a partisan "saboteur".[221] After Trump was found guilty ina criminal trial involving his concealment of payments made to the pornographic actressStormy Daniels, Miller urged Republican district attorneys to initiate "every investigation they need to" and Republicans on congressional committees to leverage their "subpoena power in every way" possible to defeat "Marxism and beat these Communists".[222] After Biden's son,Hunter, was convicted onfirearm charges, Miller alleged that Hunter had not been charged withfailing to register as a foreign agent, in reference to theBiden–Ukraine conspiracy theory, because it would implicate his father.[223] Miller wrote on X that Venezuela's expropriation of investments by US oil companies was the "largest recorded theft of American wealth and property."[224]
Miller has alleged that voter fraud occurred in the2016 and2020 presidential elections. In February 2017, he toldGeorge Stephanopoulos onABC News that voters had been bussed intoNew Hampshire, a claim rejected by state political figures and officials.[225] After Trump's loss in the 2020 election, Miller appeared on Fox News to argue that an "alternate slate of electors" could ensure Trump's victory, a legally impermissible maneuver.[226]
Miller has accusedIndia of effectively financingRussia'swar in Ukraine by continuing to purchase large amounts ofRussian oil. These remarks, made in early August 2025, represent some of the strongest criticism from the Trump administration towards India.[227]
Miller was critical of large social media companies banning Trump or Trump-aligned organizations following theJanuary 6 Capitol attack.[228] In September 2025, he accused judges and politicians from the Democratic Party of being responsible for thekilling of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a train inNorth Carolina.[229]
In January 2026, after theAmerican capture of Nicolas Maduro, Miller repeatedcalls for an American invasion and occupation ofGreenland, claiming that "nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland".[230] In fact, Greenlandic and European leaders indicated their clear opposition to an American invasion, withMette Frederiksen saying that an American annexation would mean the end of NATO. Miller continued with American imperialist rhetoric, claiming that "obviously Greenland should be part of the US".[231] Republican senatorThom Tillis called Miller's remarks "amateurish," "absurd" and "insane comments about how it is our right to have territory owned by the Kingdom of Denmark," and said Trump should fire "the amateurs" who had advised him on Greenland.[232]
In high school, Miller argued thatracism was fictitious and thatracial segregation did not exist because it was not legally imposed, owing to thecivil rights movement. In strategic plan meetings at his high school district, he decriedbilingual education, multicultural activities, and announcements inSpanish.[233] Shortly after graduating high school, Miller wrote that impoverishedIslamic countries were "poor and failing" because "they have refused to embrace the values that make our country great".[234]
In writing speeches for Trump, Miller marked a shift in language that included terms such as "radical Islamic terrorism".[citation needed] In an interview withThe New York Times in February 2021, he criticized Joe Biden's lexicon for beingpolitically correct, saying specifically that "the other side would say, 'What you call equity, I call discrimination.'"[235]
Miller is a controversial and widely disliked figure of the Trump administration.[236][237] As of 27 January 2026[update], YouGov polling has found that only 17% of respondents had a positive impression of him.[238]The New Republic named him the 2025 "Scoundrel of the Year".[239]
In February 2020, he marriedKatie Rose Waldman, the press secretary to vice presidentMike Pence and a former spokeswoman for Nielsen, at theTrump International Hotel Washington, D.C.[240] Trump attended their wedding.[241] Miller and Waldman met through mutual friends in 2018 and were engaged a year-and-a-half later.[240] They have three children together.[242]
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| Preceded by | United States Homeland Security Advisor 2025–present | Incumbent |
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d Currently styled asDeputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism | ||
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