Tillis Slams Trump’s Pick to Run the White House

Stephen Miller’s promotion to White House chief of staff places a figure credited with shaping President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies at the center of the administration. The policies have taken multiple lives and detained some U.S. citizens, the report said. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called the appointment “the worst of all possible choices.”

On CNN Friday night, Tillis questioned how someone with Miller’s “divisive of a background” could serve as “the olive branch we need to the new Democratic majorities in Congress to get things done.” He described Miller as one of “the most partisan, polarizing figures ... even among Republicans.” The appointment gives a contentious figure a top White House job. People affected by the administration’s enforcement policies don’t get a seat in that personnel decision.

A promotion after a political loss

Miller’s new role follows former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ resignation amid the fallout from the Republicans’ midterm loss. Tillis called Miller’s promotion “a colossal mistake, and the last thing we need 72 hours after the ass-whooping we got on Tuesday.” His account centers on party politics and the next confrontation in Congress, while the report also records the human consequences of immigration enforcement.

Tillis warned fellow Republicans that the choice “takes us a step in the wrong direction” and “it’s got to be fixed.” He criticized Miller’s record in domestic policy, immigration policy and interior enforcement, saying he had failed in all three. Tillis calls for the president to correct the appointment, not to change the White House structure or the enforcement apparatus described in the report.

People blamed the Republicans’ midterm loss on the extent of immigration enforcement. The report says the administration’s efforts during Trump’s second term have taken the lives of multiple people and detained some U.S. citizens. Those consequences attach to the policy Miller is credited with architecting. The account doesn’t identify the people who died or were detained, or describe any community-led response, mutual aid, direct action or horizontal organizing.

The fight over who speaks for power

Tillis called Miller “a political opportunist” who would “figure out who he could be a sycophant for in the future.” His criticism targets Miller’s loyalty and political judgment, along with his ability to face Democratic leaders. The dispute remains among officials over who should hold a powerful White House position.

“He’s not right for the job. He’s the last person that we can put on — have the face of the White House when he’s got to confront a Leader Schumer and a Speaker Jeffries,” Tillis said. “It makes no sense on any level.” Tillis said Miller won’t help the administration work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress. The report offers no legislative proposal, election remedy or change to immigration enforcement; it records a Republican senator’s demand that the president’s choice be fixed. The machinery of government remains the setting, while people subject to its enforcement remain outside this exchange. Tillis made his criticism on CNN Friday night.