The shake-up, explained: What actually marks Steven Miller as the head of staff.
The White House just sent its clearest signal yet about how it plans to deal with the new era of divided government: It's going to war. Stephen Miller — the architect of the administration's toughest immigration policies, including this year's deadly attack in Minneapolis — is taking over as Trump's chief of staff, replacing the low-profile Susie Wales. The move comes just days after the GOP's sweeping losses, and it's hard to read it as anything other than a pivot to conflict.
The promotion of Miller was widely seen as a message that the White House was digging in, not hand-made. As Trump’s former policy advisor said, “They’re not going to slow the executive power, execution and regulations. Stephen is going to go aggressively all this. Wales, the first woman to be named Chief of Staff, was behind the scenes; Miller is a lightning blow. And he takes hold just as soon as the Democrats are supposed to control Congress – a combination that actually ensures friction.
Interestingly enough, Trump publicly takes a different tone. In an interview with "60 Minutes," he said his deportation policy was "too tough" and brought up a deal that would allow undocumented workers who hold jobs and pay taxes to stay: "I think it's something that's really doable. "He even congratulated the Democrats after the losses. But Miller's height tells a different story - one where compromise looks less likely by the day.
Not everyone in the GOP is on board. Rep. Marilyn Stutzman called the promotion a "bad mistake," arguing that "if your team takes a hit as bad as we did last week, you have to fire people. You don't promote those who were responsible. "Democrats were even tougher: Schumer called Miller "the architect of this administration's most barbaric and inhumane policies" and said Trump "couldn't have made a worse choice. "Sn.