There’s only one person running immigration policy in this administration, and it’s not Stephen Miller, said President Trump Wednesday as he left for a rally in Texas.
“You know who that is? It’s me,” he said, in case anyone was not clear.
In recent days, Trump’s senior aide has been named repeatedly as the mastermind behind a tougher stance on migrants trying to cross the southern border and as the architect of an overhaul of senior personnel at the Department of Homeland Security.
Kirstjen Nielsen was ousted as head of the department on Sunday, prompting a round of briefings that Miller — who co-wrote Trump’s “American carnage” inauguration speech — had long been gunning for her.
It came days after Trump wrongfooted Homeland Security officials by withdrawing his nomination of Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, again reportedly at the urging of Miller.
Randolph Alles, the Secret Service director, and Claire Grady, the acting Homeland Security deputy secretary, have also both left, with reports of more departures to come.
The result was a burgeoning narrative of a hidden puppetmaster leading a clean-out ahead of a major tightening of immigration policy.
“Stephen is an excellent guy. He is a wonderful person. People don’t know him,” said Trump when he was asked about his aide by reporters at the White House before going on to deliver a very public slap-down.
“He has been with me from the beginning. He is a brilliant man … and frankly, there is only one person that is running it.”
He pointed to his own head, in case anyone missed the point.
It is not the first time an adviser has been cut down to size after generating too many headlines.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, the other author of the inauguration speech, drew Trump’s ire in 2017 after a string of stories about his genius for political strategy that included in a Time front cover headlined “The Great Manipulator.”
In recent months Miller, who served as communications director for then-Sen. Jeff Sessions before joining the Trump campaign, has been seen as the new Trump whisperer.
Sam Nunberg, an early hire by the Trump 2016 campaign, said it was a mistake to ever take too much credit for policy or personnel decisions. He added that briefings emphasizing Miller’s role in the Homeland Security shake-up may be designed to undermine his position.
“Miller is going to have to be careful and not take too much credit,” he said. “People saying that this was Miller, instead of that this was Trump’s decision, is a way to get Miller back.”
