The White House says Mr. Miller drove the administration’s results on crime, the border and fraud; California’s senior senator says Democrats will use investigations and their leverage over federal funding once they take control of Congress in January.
President Trump’s choice of Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, announced on Nov. 6, three days after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, has given Sen. Alex Padilla of California a target for the next two years.
The White House presents the appointment as a promotion for the aide most closely tied to its agenda. In its announcement, it named Mr. Miller the 33rd chief of staff, succeeding Susie Wiles “after her highly successful tenure,” and said he “has been a driving force behind the Administration’s major successes — driving violent crime to historic lows, securing the border at unprecedented levels, and dismantling large-scale fraud.” It added that he “brings deep experience, broad institutional knowledge, and unwavering commitment to the role.”
Mr. Trump called Mr. Miller “one of my most trusted advisors” on Truth Social and told reporters he was “very good politically” and a “great manager,” CBS News reported. Ms. Wiles, the first woman to hold the job, is moving to the president’s political operation. Mr. Miller, 41, had been deputy chief of staff for policy and took over on Nov. 9.
Asked about criticism of the choice, the White House called Mr. Miller a “key player” in delivering the president’s agenda. “He has spearheaded the administration’s crime crackdown including in DC and Memphis, record setting deregulation, unleashed American energy, dismantled drug cartels, and secured our border,” it said in a statement reported by The Guardian. “In his new role, he will continue to deliver historic successes for the American people.”
Mr. Miller said on X that he was “honored beyond words” and wrote: “The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic.”
Padilla’s answer
Mr. Padilla, who grew up in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley, answered in a statement published by The San Fernando Valley Sun. He read the election as a verdict on the administration and the appointment as a refusal to change course.
“I know Trump heard them, but sadly and predictably, he’s choosing to double down, handing the keys of the West Wing to the man most responsible for this administration’s failures and most harmful policies,” Mr. Padilla said.
He called Mr. Miller “the architect of the cruelest immigration policies this country has seen in modern times,” listing family separations, the detention of children, “militarized raids” and “arbitrary arrest quotas,” and said Californians “have watched federal agents target their neighborhoods.”
Then came the promise: “Trump is doubling down – so will we. We will use every tool at our disposal – oversight, investigations, subpoenas and our leverage over federal funding – to expose this administration’s abuse of power and hold those responsible accountable.”
Those are a political opponent’s characterizations, and the administration disputes them. It credits Mr. Miller’s immigration work with securing the border, the first accomplishment it lists in his favor.
What changes in January
The threat has more force than it would have had a year ago. CBS News and NBC News project that Democrats will hold at least 54 seats in the Senate when the new Congress convenes, and Democrats also won the House. The results are unofficial until states certify them. In the minority, Democrats could request information; in the majority, their committees can issue subpoenas, schedule hearings and shape the spending bills that fund the Department of Homeland Security and the White House itself.
Mr. Padilla, who is not on the ballot again until 2028, is one of many Democrats who have denounced the choice. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said Mr. Trump “couldn’t have made a worse choice,” according to CBS.
California’s other senator struck the same note. In remarks provided to The Inquirer by his office on Thursday, Sen. Adam Schiff called Mr. Miller the “architect of the president’s right-wing immigration policy.” The excerpts his office sent cite Mr. Miller’s role in the travel ban, family separation at the border and the fight over DACA, the program shielding immigrants brought to the country as children; in them, Mr. Schiff also calls for an overhaul of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and encourages people to protest and to record on video what he describes as unlawful conduct by agents.
Rep. Luz Rivas, a Democrat who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley and who, like Mr. Padilla, graduated from San Fernando High School, issued a statement in the same Valley Sun article accusing Mr. Miller of directing ICE raids that have frightened families in her district.
Support, and some Republican doubts
Republicans in Congress largely welcomed the choice. The White House release collected praise from more than a dozen senators and House members. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called Mr. Miller “a staunch defender of law and order against illegal invasions and leftist lawlessness.” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said “there is no bigger advocate for the Trump agenda than Stephen.” A White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Mr. Miller had worked with Democrats on the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
Not every Republican agreed. Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, who had said Mr. Miller “should be fired,” called the promotion a “horrible decision” in comments to Semafor, The Guardian reported.
Mr. Trump has also said since the election that he is open to a deal with Democrats on immigration, NBC News reported on Nov. 11. Whether a chief of staff known for enforcement can broker one is the open question; Democratic leaders have so far said they are skeptical.
The stock-trading fight
Mr. Padilla has paired the confrontation with a second issue on which he hopes for broader support. On Nov. 10, after a clip circulated of Mr. Trump telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” that “I trade– traded, like, 40,000 stocks,” Mr. Padilla posted on X: “We’re going to stop this. Ban stock trading for Congress AND THE PRESIDENT,” according to MarketDash.
The White House has said that Mr. Trump does not personally manage his investments and that independent financial advisers oversee his portfolio, MarketDash reported.
The House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act in July. It would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying individual stocks, but it does not cover the president or vice president. A Senate vote to take it up failed in September, 53 to 47, short of the 60 votes needed; Democrats objected that it fell short of a full ban and to voter-identification provisions Republicans attached. Mr. Padilla twice sought in July to pass by unanimous consent a broader bill that would also cover the president and vice president, and Republicans objected both times, according to the same report.
A Democratic Senate would control the floor schedule on that bill too, though any measure binding the president would still need Mr. Trump’s signature or enough votes to override a veto.
For California, the stakes of the next two years run through the same committees. Federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, the Central Valley and the Bay Area, disaster aid and the state’s share of federal funding will all pass through spending bills that a Democratic Congress will write and a White House run by Mr. Miller will have to negotiate. The first test comes in December, when government funding runs out on Dec. 11 and the outgoing Republican Congress must act to keep agencies open.
Beatrix Halloran covers the campaigns, money, ambitions and personalities of Northern California’s congressional delegation, for The Delegation. More from Beatrix Halloran
