Stephen Miller named Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy, signifying focus on immigration
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Stephen Miller, one of his longest-serving top immigration advisers, as deputy chief of staff for policy in the incoming White House.
The quick appointment of the hardline conservative signals Trump plans to move aggressively on the "America first" agenda he ran on. Miller was picked before traditional national security roles such as attorney general, secretaries of State and Defense, and national security adviser.
Although Trump hasn't formally announced the pick, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser in the 2024 Trump campaign, both congratulated Miller on his new role Monday in posts on X after CNN first reported the move. "This is another fantastic pick by the president," Vance said.
Miller's appointment comes after Trump campaigned for president in 2024 on mobilizing mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country unlawfully.
The 39-year-old Miller served as senior advisor to Trump and director of speechwriting during the Republican's first term in the White House. He is credited with shaping Trump’s immigration policies while president, which included separating migrant children from their families and a ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries.
More: Donald Trump picks Tom Homan, former head of immigration enforcement, to be 'border czar'
Miller emerged as one of Trump's top policy architects early on in his first presidency ? despite having little policy experience at the time ? and became a favorite of Trump to hit cable news television shows on behalf of the president. Miller has regularly attacked free trade and globalization as threats to American jobs in addition to his hardline positions on immigration.
Many Democrats during Trump's term accused Miller of being a white nationalist, seizing on a 2019 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center that highlighted more than 900 emails he purportedly sent to a former writer at the conservative website Breitbart sharing his views.
After Trump's first presidential term ended, Miller launched the America First Legal Foundation, which challenged in court several Biden administration policies. Their targets included efforts to financially assist Black farmers, arguing the program was discriminatory. Miller later played a central role in Trump's 2024 campaign.
Miller joins Susie Wiles, Trump's incoming White House chief of staff, on his second-term team. Other new additions include Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., as the nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who Trump named on Sunday as his “border czar” overseeing deportation policy for immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
Contributing: Michael Collins
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump taps Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy