‘Stephen Miller Is A White Nationalist,’ Says Ilhan Omar About Man ‘In Charge’ Of Trump’s Immigration Policy
Minnesota freshman Representative Ilhan Omar slammed White House senior adviser Stephen Miller as a white nationalist who was pulling the strings behind Donald Trump’s increasingly anti-immigrant policies, according to The Hill.
Following the departure of Kirstjen Nielsen as the Secretary of Homeland Security, reports have suggested that Miller — an immigration hardliner — has been behind the purge of Trump officials. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told Miller that he was “in charge” of the administration’s immigration policy, a fact which has not been disputed by the White House. Before Miller asked the president to get rid of Nielsen, New Republic reports, he made the president cut ties with Ronald Vitello, the president’s nominee to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a tweet, Omar, who was recently mocked by the president for her tweets on Israel, blasted Miller as a white nationalist. She asserted that Miller is the leading influence on Trump’s immigration policy, and reports suggest that her characterization of Miller being the main man behind the recent DHS purge is not mistaken. According to a DHS official who spoke to Politico anonymously, Miller is actively making the president let go of moderate officials and is likely to assert more influence in the days to come.
“He’s actively trying to put in place people who have very different points of view than the current leadership within the agencies. His idea is basically [to] clean house,” the official said.
Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage. https://t.co/7NyMDgojd7
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 8, 2019
The New Republic report claims that Miller is the primary reason that many of the departments under the Trump administration have acting directors, including the Justice, Defense, Veteran Affairs, and now Homeland Security. Trump’s decisions are going to get more radical because that is the direction Miller wants him to take, the report suggests.
“Miller has shown an unwavering commitment to Trump’s toxic immigration agenda, perhaps even more so than the president himself. Miller’s expanding influence and seemingly permanent tenure suggest that Trump’s immigration policies will become even more radical than those he implemented during his first two years in office.”
Miller has reportedly urged the president to completely close the southern border, and because Ronald Vitello, the president’s nominee to lead ICE, was not in favor of granting such a move, his nomination was withdrawn last week.
“We’re going in a little different direction,” Trump had said after reports of him withdrawing Vitello’s nomination first emerged. “Ron’s a good man, but we’re going in a tougher direction.”
