President Trump sent a blunt message to the incoming Democratic majority on Capitol Hill by tapping Stephen Miller to be his new chief of staff, setting up what is likely to be a contentious two years between both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Miller is loathed by most Democrats, many of whom view him as xenophobic and racist. Additionally, the incoming chief of staff is not known to compromise with the other side of the aisle, preferring a combative approach to pushing the Trump agenda.
Many see the move as Trump signaling to congressional Democrats that he is not thinking about compromise and will implement his agenda through executive authority.
“They are not going to slow down on executive power, executive orders, and regulations,” said Joe Grogan, former director of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council in his first administration and senior adviser at Covington & Burling LLP. “Stephen is going to move aggressively on all of that.”
Mick Mulvaney, who was Trump’s chief of staff during his first term, said the president’s pick of Miller sends “a clear message.”
“The White House will continue to prioritize executive authority in the next two years,” Mulvaney told The Hill.
“Stephen is a good choice on many levels, but face it, if the president was looking to build bridges with the new incoming Democrat majorities, he would probably have gone in a different direction,” he continued.
Not everyone in Trump’s orbit and the broader GOP universe is thrilled about the decision.
“We’re cooked,” said one former Trump administration official. “It’s exactly the opposite direction voters are begging Republicans to go. Susie was the best thing that happened to President Trump,” the former official continued, referencing chief of staff Susie Wiles, who resigned Friday.
Another former Trump White House official who worked with Miller described the incoming chief of staff as “smart and opinionated, but does not have many close friends on the White House staff.”
“Most of his colleagues view him as somewhat of an arrogant lone wolf,” the former official said.
“Trump likes him because he’s been a hard-liner on immigration enforcement in both his terms, but Trump has also gone against Miller when his ‘no holds barred’ approach goes too far like in Minneapolis earlier this year,” they added.
The violent optics of the clashes between federal immigration enforcement and protesters in Minnesota earlier this year led, in part, to the ouster of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Border Patrol officer Gregory Bovino, who served as commander at large of the law enforcement arm, was also removed from his position following the unrest.
However, Miller, who strongly defended the operation, kept his role in the administration.
His promotion comes after the president said Wednesday that he would “probably get along with the Democrats unless they want to be destructive, adding that he wields “the power of the veto.”
“They’ve already called, and they want to talk about things, and that’s fine,” the president said.
Democrats, however, say Trump’s promotion of Miller has thrown that possibility out the window.
“Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a post on the social platform X. “His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor.”
“Fire him today,” added Jeffries, who is likely to be the next House Speaker.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) responded to Miller’s promotion by saying Trump has “learned nothing from his historic defeat.”
“Stephen Miller is the architect of the most barbaric, inhumane policies of this administration. Trump couldn’t have made a worse choice,” Schumer wrote on X. “Our Democratic majorities will fight him every step of the way.”
One Republican lobbyist warned the move to promote Miller will only worsen relations between the White House and Capitol Hill.
“The president has two directions, one was to work with the Democratic Congress to try to get some things done. The other is to go to war with them. Stephen is more of a go-to-war guy,” the lobbyist said.
But Grogan argued that Trump’s move to tap Miller as his chief of staff could be seen as a negotiating tactic in itself.
“Trump is a negotiator and by picking Miller he is negotiating because he’s projecting strength, not weakness,” Grogan said.
