Scoop: Stephen Miller emerges as top contender for Trump's next national security adviser
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Stephen Miller (center) is longtime aide to President Trump. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Trump's top policy adviser, Stephen Miller, is garnering buzz inside the White House as a top candidate to be the next national security adviser, five sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.
Why it matters: Miller — the deputy chief of staff and the brain behind Trump's controversial immigration crackdown — is one of the president's longest-serving and most-trusted aides.
- Miller's name surfaced shortly after Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser on Thursday and nominated Waltz to become the next United Nations ambassador.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is temporarily taking over Waltz's responsibilities, but sources familiar with his thinking say he's busy enough running the State Department.
Zoom in: Miller already is the administration's Homeland Security adviser, and is an aggressive defender of the administration's legal push for immediate deportations of unauthorized immigrants without court hearings.
- One White House source told Axios via text that Miller has made the Homeland Security Council run "like clockwork," and that it's "infinitely more effective than the NSC [National Security Council] with a tiny fraction" of the staff.
Zoom out: Trump has a penchant for putting his faith in a small number of advisers and piling responsibilities on their plate, so insiders say it wouldn't be unusual for Miller hold multiple titles, just as Rubio does.
- "Marco and Stephen have worked really closely on immigration and it might be a perfect match," said another White House source.
- "Given how well he's worked with Marco, many see him as the perfect person to restore the role of the NSA to a staff-level policy role that reports to the chief of staff, instead of some inflated Cabinet position," said another insider.
- A fourth source said Miller signaled interest in the job Thursday, but Miller couldn't be reached for comment to confirm.
- A fifth source said Miller might not want the job "if it takes him away from his true love: immigration policy."
What's next: Those who understand the president's thinking say it's unclear how long he wants to keep Rubio as national security adviser.
- But one of the administration sources said that "if Stephen wants the job, it's hard to see why Trump wouldn't say yes."
