Pressure is growing on White House senior adviser Stephen Miller after the killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minneapolis and its politically divisive aftermath. Miller, the architect of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy, finds himself in the rare position of being contradicted and excluded from crucial decisions by the US president.
About three and a half hours after the tragedy on Saturday, Miller used social media to describe Pretti as a “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents”. On Tuesday, when asked if he believed Pretti was an assassin, Trump said: “No.” The president held a two-hour meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the Oval Office on Monday evening at her request; Miller was conspicuously absent.
Axios reported, citing four unnamed sources, that Miller was responsible for the Department of Homeland Security’s baseless claim that Pretti intended to “massacre” officers, parroted by Noem. On Tuesday, in a statement to CNN, Miller admitted that the border patrol agents “may not have been following” proper protocol before the fatal shooting – a rare reversal. Multiple phone videos by witnesses exposed the false narrative, prompting an outcry and forcing Trump into a partial climbdown.
Trump pulled border patrol commander Greg Bovino out of Minneapolis and sent border czar Tom Homan, who has been critical of Miller’s approach, to “recalibrate tactics”. He also held cordial phone calls with Minnesota’s governor and Minneapolis mayor. More than 160 Democrats in the House have signed on to impeach Noem, but Trump insisted she would not step down. Experts say Miller’s abuses of power have discredited Trump’s deportation policy; Larry Jacobs of the University of Minnesota called him the architect of the recklessness and brutality.
Miller, 40, has proved a master at converting Trump’s impulses into policy and remains central to the Make America Great Again project. Henry Olsen of the Ethics and Public Policy Center predicted Miller would take a back seat until the storm passes. Despite the misstep, observers believe he is too dominant a figure to be fired.
