Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Sunday that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller should be removed from President Donald Trump’s inner circle, arguing the longtime adviser wields too much influence over administration policy and has contributed to repeated controversies.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Tillis told host Jake Tapper that Miller has had an “outsized influence” on the administration and is “out of his depth” in his current role.
When asked directly whether Miller should be relieved of his duties, Tillis replied, “Oh, of course I do.”
“Not only does Stephen really want to just paint a picture. He’s not worried about substance. He’s more worried about form,” Tillis said. “But I also think that he has an outsized influence over the operations of the Cabinet. And I believe we have got qualified Cabinet members there that sometimes are doing less than what they want to because of his direction and his outsized influence.”
Miller, one of Trump’s closest advisers since the president’s first campaign, has long been a key architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policies. He currently serves as deputy chief of staff and has played a central role shaping the White House’s approach to border enforcement and deportation initiatives.
Tillis’s remarks come amid broader scrutiny of the administration’s immigration enforcement strategy and leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. The criticism follows a series of controversies, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Tillis previously criticized Miller and then–Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after both officials suggested Good and Pretti were acting unlawfully before they were killed, assertions that drew backlash from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates. The North Carolina Republican has called for a thorough investigation into the incidents and greater accountability within DHS.
The comments also come as the administration undergoes leadership changes at the department. Trump recently removed Noem from her post as homeland security secretary following mounting criticism of her tenure and controversies surrounding immigration enforcement operations.
Tillis, who has announced he will not seek reelection, has been among the more vocal Republican critics of the administration’s handling of the Minneapolis incidents and broader immigration enforcement policies. On Sunday, he said the administration should rely more heavily on Cabinet officials rather than informal influence from White House advisers.
“He’s a big problem in this administration,” Tillis said of Miller. “He has been from the beginning.”
Tillis is the ass-klown who needs to be fired!
Exactly!!
Tillis knew he’d be defeated in a primary race so quit before he could be humiliated. GOP voters are fed up with him. He drank the toxic Potomac water, became a RINO. Now he’s lashing out with bitterness towards conservatives in Trump’s administration. He seems to have wanted DHS Secretary Noem & Stephen Miller to lie about what two Minnesotans were doing, both actively obstructing federal ICE agents in performance of their duties. Tillis thus aligns himself with radical Democrats. Is he ignoring Pretti bringing a loaded pistol with 2 clips of ammunition to a “peaceful protest”?! Prior to that, he was so lathered up he kicked a tail light off an ICE vehicle & got into a physical altercation with ICE agents. It looks as if Pretti may well have been plotting a mass shooting of ICE agents. Shame on Tillis for being dishonest about what transpired in Minnesota and not appreciating the real threats that exist to the safety & lives of these federal officers fulfilling their lawful mission. He should be grateful that dangerous illegal aliens are being removed from our communities & that Trump is restoring law & order.
Tillis is a deranged RINO moron who couldn’t take the heat so he’s bailing out. A total loser
💯 Absolutely agree 👍
STEP RIGHT UP FOLKS …. SEE THE INFAMOUS RHINO IN THE FLESH!!! NOTHING TO FEAR… THEY ARE HARMLESS
Good Riddance. Has done nothing in career and should have been voted out years ago. Did someone announce there is an opening is Assisted Living Facility called the US Senate.
Who cares what the Tillis RINO has to say ?….he ‘got a check’ ! He can leave now, don’t wait for retirement.
Cowards like Tillis pop off after they announce they will not run again. He knows his political career is over so why should anybody listen to him?
RINOs, in collaboration with DumbocRats, want to wrap the President of the USA, Donald J. Trump, into a cocoon so that his decisions could not be translated into actions by traditional bureaucrats beholden to the RINOs.
MAGA Republicans must firmly denounce these RINOs.