What to Know About Stephen Miller, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Policy

Miller, one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, has played a role in many of Trump’s policy proposals, particularly on immigration.
What to Know About Stephen Miller, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Policy
Former White House senior advisor and director of speechwriting Steven Miller speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas on July 11, 2021. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Samantha Flom
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Stephen Miller, former senior policy advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, will return to the White House to serve as deputy chief of policy in Trump’s new administration, according to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Vance, a Senator from Ohio, confirmed reports of Miller’s appointment via social media.

“This is another fantastic pick by the president,” Vance wrote in an X post, congratulating Miller on his new position.

As the role is not a Cabinet position, it will not require Senate confirmation.

While the names and faces surrounding Trump have changed over the years, Miller has been a fixture on the president-elect’s team since his first presidential bid. He has also been at the center of many of Trump’s policy proposals, particularly on immigration.

Prior to joining Trump’s 2016 campaign, Miller worked for a handful of congressional Republicans, including former Reps. Michelle Bachman (R-Minn.) and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

While serving as Sessions’s communications director, Miller played a pivotal role in defeating the Gang of Eight’s 2013 immigration reform bill, which included a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Trump later picked Sessions, one of the bill’s most vocal detractors, as his first attorney general.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Miller often served as a spokesman for Trump. He would also hype up the crowds at rallies before the candidate’s speeches, which he had a hand in crafting.

Since leaving the White House, Miller has continued to defend Trump’s policies and agenda as the president of America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit he launched alongside other former Trump advisers in April 2021.

“Those who believe in America First must not shy away from using our legal system to defend our society and our families from any unlawful actions by the left,” Miller said at the time.

“Those looking to hold the new administration in Washington to account finally have their answer. Our self-imposed policy of legal disarmament is now over.”

An outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, Miller, through America First Legal, sued to stop the administration’s “catch-and-release” border policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miller was also an active participant in Trump’s latest campaign, speaking ahead of the candidate at events, including the president-elect’s New York rally at Madison Square Garden.

“In nine days, your rescue is coming. In nine days, your salvation is at hand,” Miller told the crowd at the Oct. 27 event.

Describing the election as “a crossroads” in American history and Western civilization, he urged attendees to use their votes to push back against an oppressive political system.

“You have loved your country, you followed the rules, you paid your taxes, you did everything right. And the system keeps on beating you down, beating you down, and beating you down,” Miller said.

“And I say to you, are you going to let that system win? Are you going to surrender, or are you going to follow the example of President Donald J. Trump and fight, fight, fight to the finish and save this nation, save this country, save this civilization, and save this glorious republic?”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Samantha Flom
Samantha Flom
Author
Samantha Flom is a reporter for The Epoch Times covering U.S. politics and news. A graduate of Syracuse University, she has a background in journalism and nonprofit communications. Contact her at [email protected].