After the US Republican Party lost control of Congress in the midterm elections, President Trump announced today that immigration hardliner General Miller will take over as White House Chief of Staff. Miller is known for promoting the most stringent domestic and immigration policies and is one of Trump's most loyal core aides.
● Trump’s number one guard
Stephen Miller, 41, grew up in politically liberal Santa Monica, California, but already displayed a militant conservative style when he was a student newspaper columnist at Duke University.
Reuters reported that when Miller served as a congressional staffer in the 2010s, he was an active promoter of the issue of restricting immigration before it became mainstream in the Republican Party.
He joined the Trump campaign in 2016 and later served as an adviser and speechwriter during Trump's first presidential term. After Trump lost the election in 2020, Miller founded the conservative advocacy group "America First Legal" and frequently filed complaints, accusing companies such as Nike of discriminating against white people.
During Trump's second term, Miller served as White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser. His wife Katie. Katie Miller is a conservative podcast host who served as press secretary in Trump’s first administration.
● Push for strong anti-immigration policies
Miller is most notable for single-handedly leading Trump's hard-line immigration crackdown in his second term, setting a goal of arresting 3,000 people per day, far higher than the level of previous administrations. He pushed hard for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target all illegal immigrants, not just those with criminal records.
In January this year, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Hours after the incident, Miller took to social media to refer to the deceased as a "homegrown terrorist" and a "would-be assassin," even though the video reviewed by Reuters showed that Preti was holding a mobile phone instead of a gun. Miller later changed his tone and said the detectives involved "may not have followed" standard procedures.
In addition to strengthening law enforcement, Miller is a strong supporter of abolishing birthright citizenship. After the Supreme Court rejected the motion, Miller lambasted the ruling as "one of the most devastating and outrageous decisions" in the history of the Supreme Court.
After the Supreme Court ruling came out, Miller announced a complete ban on "birth tourism" to prevent foreigners from entering the United States specifically to give birth.
● Other topics
Miller has also been influential on many of Trump's other priorities, including opposing diversity initiatives and targeting transgender rights. A person familiar with the matter said last year that he was one of a handful of staff members within the White House who reviewed all executive orders.
On the military conflict with Iran, Miller closely followed Trump's tone. At the beginning of the conflict, he claimed that the strikes by the US military and Israel had completely destroyed Tehran's leadership and military capabilities. Later, he vigorously promoted the progress of the ceasefire and stated on Fox News in July that some Iranian officials were "extremely eager" to reach a peace agreement.
Miller also advocated an aggressive foreign policy in other areas.
In January, he refused to rule out military action to acquire Greenland and said after former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was arrested in January that the United States was "governing Venezuela." He supports the US military's attack on people suspected of drug smuggling, saying in October 2025: "These people are terrorists, and they will be shot."
In the months leading up to the midterm elections, he worked with White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought to develop executive actions that Trump could take on his own without congressional approval.
