Most people know Stephen Miller as the unyielding face of Donald Trump's hardline immigration agenda. But as a new NBC News investigation reveals, Miller's reach within the Trump administration extends far beyond immigration - a testament to his staying power and the outsized influence he wields.
What this really means is that Miller has carved out an expansive, unchecked portfolio that allows him to inject his conservative ideology into virtually any area of domestic or foreign policy that Trump prioritizes. From beautifying Washington, D.C. to cracking down on "woke" college campuses, Miller's fingerprints are all over the Trump administration's agenda.
The Power Behind the Throne
The bigger picture here is that Miller, unlike most White House advisers, wields tremendous influence despite never having been elected to office. As The Nation reports, Miller's white-supremacist worldview and relentless drive to implement his hardline policies have made him a "maximalist force behind a maximalist presidency." And with his aggressive push for more deportation raids and crackdowns on sanctuary cities, Miller has become arguably the most consequential figure in Trump's second term.
What's perhaps most alarming is that Miller's power appears to be unchecked, even in the face of public backlash. The deadly ICE raids he championed in Minneapolis that killed two American citizens did little to dent his standing within the administration. As one former Trump official told NBC News, Miller "understands the MAGA DNA" - and that seems to be all that matters to Trump.
With Trump's 2024 victory fueling a new wave of hardline policies, Stephen Miller's outsized influence is likely to only grow in the coming years. For those who oppose his agenda, the challenge will be finding ways to rein in a figure who has managed to make himself indispensable to the most powerful man in the world.