Stephen Miller's office has issued a memo telling White House staff not to discuss policy with lobbyists on the grounds without approval.
The move follows claims by Calley Means, a former health adviser who left HHS last month, that Susie Wiles favored corporate donors with well-connected lobbyists. Means named Ballard Partners, where Wiles once worked, and her daughter Katie, a partner at Continental Strategy.
Miller took over as chief of staff last week after Wiles was removed, and the White House has not said what prompted the memo.
Republicans are moving further right a week after voters rejected Trump and the GOP at the polls. House Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their next minority leader over the more moderate Steve Scalise. Trump also tapped Stephen Miller as chief of staff.
Jordan once chaired the House Judiciary Committee, where he led the failed effort to impeach Joe Biden. Miller, who oversaw the administration's immigration enforcement, will now be Trump's main contact with the Democratic Congress.
Richard Walters, a deputy White House chief of staff, is leaving the Trump administration. His exit follows Trump's decision to replace Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller.
Walters had held the role since May 2026 and previously led the inaugural committee for Trump and JD Vance. Miller said Walters will keep helping from outside, and his departure is the first major staff change before Miller takes over on Monday.
Miller's wife, Katie, is also ending new episodes of her podcast to focus on their four kids.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats have no plans to work with Stephen Miller once he replaces Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.
In a Sunday TV interview, Jeffries called Miller the engine behind the mass deportation push and a poor pick. He said Democrats' larger House and Senate majorities will act as a check on him.
Miller is credited with some of the administration's toughest immigration policies, including a travel ban and family separations during Trump's first term. He is also reportedly a key figure in current efforts to end birthright citizenship.
Trump has named Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration crackdown, as White House chief of staff, and immigrant advocates and California officials are alarmed.
Advocates in Southern California fear more enforcement, but Democrats' midterm gains give the next Congress more ways to rein in the White House.
Rep. Robert Garcia, set to lead the House Oversight Committee, said Trump is escalating, and Sen. Alex Padilla promised oversight and subpoenas. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said her office will keep pushing back.
Stephen Miller, Trump's pick to succeed Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, said in his first speech since the appointment that Republicans are now stronger and better liked. He spoke days after Democrats took both chambers in the midterms.
Miller credited Trump with saving the country and the party, citing the 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the criminal cases Trump has faced.
The GOP shed 44 or more House seats and seven in the Senate, and Trump has said the economy and the fighting with Iran played a part.
Trump has tapped Stephen Miller, currently deputy chief of staff, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff starting Monday.
Katie Miller, his wife and a conservative podcaster, drew attention after the midterms by suggesting busy mothers were part of the reason Republicans fell short. She later admitted she skipped voting in Virginia, saying the state's voter lists would expose her home address.
Trump described Stephen Miller as politically skilled and said he has been there from the outset. Katie Miller wrote on X that her husband has backed the president for 11 years.
Democrats will soon run both chambers of Congress, and many plan to push back on Trump's immigration crackdown. Scrutiny of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security looks likely to be a priority, including alleged misuse of funds and deaths among people in custody.
Still, the limits are real. Trump keeps his veto power for two more years, Republicans already set aside billions of dollars for enforcement earlier this year, and he just named Stephen Miller, the main force behind his tough approach, as chief of staff.
US Politics Daily@uspoliticsdaily
