Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Sunday that deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller is a “big problem” for the Trump administration as it seeks to deliver on border security.
Tillis said he is glad President Donald Trump “moved on” from Kristi Noem’s leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, expressing hope that his “friend” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) can “fix what’s broken” at DHS.
This comes after Trump removed Kristi Noem from her role as DHS secretary and appointed McMillen to fill the position.
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Tillis, a vocal critic of Noem’s leadership, added that if the Mullin “I know in the Senate” goes on to the DHS, then Mullin will tell Miller to “stay in his lanes.”
The senator said he thinks Miller is “out of his depth” and that “of course” Miller should leave the Trump administration.
“Not only does Stephen really want to just paint a picture, he‘s not worried about substance; he‘s more worried about form, but I also think that he has an outsized influence over the operations of the cabinet,” Tillis said on CNN’s State of the Union.
“And I believe we‘ve got qualified cabinet members there that sometimes are doing less than what they want to because of his direction and his outsized influence. He‘s a big problem in this administration. He has been from the beginning.”
Tillis added that he believes Mullin will be “driven by data” in leading DHS, and Tillis is “looking forward” to helping DHS in aiding Republicans “seize” on border security and deportations, two issues he said helped the party get elected.
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Mullin expressed enthusiasm for his new role in the Trump administration on Thursday, telling reporters he “had to call my wife and call my dad” over Trump’s announcement. If he is confirmed for this position, Oklahoma law would trigger a special election during the 2026 midterm elections to fill the remainder of his Senate term.
Trump said Noem will fill a new position as special envoy to the “Shield of the Americas.” Noem said Saturday that this group is intended to “make sure that we’re each defending our own sovereignty” and build “economic prosperity that blesses all of our people.”
