House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has no plans to make things work with new White House chief of staff Stephen Miller once he assumes his post.
Denouncing Miller as a dangerous ideologue during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” the top Democrat said the far-right tactician was an “awful choice” to replace GOP veteran Susie Wiles.
“Stephen Miller is the architect of Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine, and has unleashed billions of taxpayer dollars to brutalize and kill American citizens like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good,” Jeffries said. “And at the same period of time, to violently target law-abiding immigrant families and communities all across the country.”
“It was an irresponsible decision, in my view,” he went on.
“There’s not gonna be any opportunity to work with Stephen Miller and what he represents,” Jeffries continued.
Calling Democrats’ robust, new majorities in the House and Senate a “firewall” against any of Miller’s machinations, the congressman said, “We’re committed to forcefully pushing back against the extremism that they may try to continue to unleash on the American people.”
Jeffries reacted to news of the White House shake-up with a stinging social media statement on Friday, writing, “Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands. His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor.”
While not the most public face of the MAGA movement, Miller is credited with some of the Trump administration’s most strident immigration enforcement strategies.
A leading voice behind the White House’s first term family separation policy and travel ban targeting Muslim-majority, Miller is reported to have been a driving force behind current efforts to end to birthright citizenship, aggressive immigration arrest quotas and third-country deportations.