As President Donald Trump rambles and sleeps through meetings, looking only for excessive adulation, there are questions about who is really running the country. Some observers think it could be Stephen Miller, the president’s chief of staff for policy, and Trump’s main immigration and homeland security adviser.
Looking into Miller’s background and credentials, we see a ruthless authoritarian who implements hard-right policies at every turn. He has spent ten years of rising influence in the Trump world. Recommended initially by Steve Bannon, he served as a senior adviser and director of speechwriting during Trump’s first term. When Trump lost the 2020 election, Miller remained on board. He proclaimed the election “fake” and played a role in setting up bogus electors.
Upon Trump’s return to power, Miller became an even more influential figure in the second-term administration. As the architect of domestic hardline policies, he has instituted an unforgiving regime, working less as a government advisor and more like a wartime general and a feared power behind the throne. Starting in January, 2025, he established morning briefings even on Saturdays, accepting no excuses. He demands progress reports from heads of FBI, CBP, ICE, HHS, and DOD. His orders veer on hectoring, and he frequently yells at everyone.
Miller ruthlessly pursues the president’s vision especially when it comes to pushing immigrants out of the country. He wants 3,000 arrests a day, 10 times the number achieved in 2024. He has backed the use of laws such as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to quickly carry out deportations.
Credit Miller with Trump’s draconian family-separation policies. He has pushed for bans
on Chinese student visas and encouraged Trump gradually to end birthright citizenship saying such an aboltion it “would be a dream come true.” Miller also worked with Elon Musk, advising him on gutting the federal bureaucracy.
Miller was born in Santa Monica, son of Miriam and Michael Miller. His dad is of Askenazi Jewish descent and Stephen attended Hebrew school where classmates thought of him as a contrarian. Like his father, Stephen was known in school as a nonconformist. He read Ayn Rand in high school and wore tailored suits. At Duke University, he wrote a column for the student newspaper and was an outspoken backer of the Duke lacrosse team members during their rape trial, insisting that they were targets as white males. Miller counted his lacrosse team defense as his “greatest college achievement.”
After graduating from Duke with a political science degree, Miller skipped law school admission tests and went straight into politics. He served on the staff of Rep. Michele Bachman and then with Rep. John Shadegg and for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. While Session’s aide, Miller worked to influence Breitbart News, championing a far-right nationalist viewpoint. It was through his work with Breitbart that Miller became involved with Steve Bannon, a close ally of Trump.
Early on, political observers dubbed Bannon “Trump’s Brain.” More recently there has been pinpointing Miller as “Trump’s Brain.” But, in the aftermath of ICE invasion of Minneapolis streets and the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, there may be reason to wonder about Miller’s continuing dominance — since Trump softened his rhetoric.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has deflected criticism by saying “Everything I’ve done, I have done at the direction of the president and Stephen Miller.” Subsequently Trump removed Border Control commander Greg Bovino and dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan, a critic of the excessive heavy-handed enforcement pushed by Miller.
Trump also summoned Noem to a two-hour meeting, not attended by Miller. What was said at the meeting isn’t clear but Noem has complained privately that she was being hung out to dry over the street episodes. Trump apparently used the meeting to take a
slap at Noem’s handling of the fatal shootings.
Afterwards, Press Secretary Karoline Levitt defended both Miller and Noem to the media, asserting “the president loves Miller” and that Noem’s job is safe. Trump would only say, “We’re reviewing everything and will come to a determination.” He talked about a subsequent “warm interview” with Minnesota Gov. Walz and noted Homan’s meeting with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The lethal shootings prompted congressional Democrats and several Republican lawmakers to call for Noem to step down or be forced out. Second Amendment supporters took issue with Trump’s critical remarks about Pretti’s carrying a licensed weapon into the confrontation. However the shifting divisions sort out, Stephen Miller and his inflexible stances on migration will not be discarded.
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