Katie Miller reacts to POLITICO report on how she lobbied for Stephen Miller getting the post of Trump’s chief of staff.
President Trump initially denied the rumors and said the speculation was 100% false. After President Donald Trump fired Susie Wiles and promoted Stephen Miller to the post of chief of staff, POLITICO reported on the behind-the-scenes that included a lot of apparent lobbying from his wife, Katie Miller.
Katie told contacts to call Trump on Stephen’s behalf if they believed he was a better choice than other potential successors to Susie Wiles, the report claimed. People familiar with her outreach said Katie had never advocated for Wiles’ removal. Among the names Trump privately discussed over the past month were Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, special envoy Steve Witkoff, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and New York Yankees president Randy Levine. Lee Zeldin and Sergio Gor were also considered. The names have been doing the rounds for quite some time. But Katie continued lobbying. Katie sent out a message that if Susie Wiles were to leave, it would have to be Stephen Miller for the job. Stephen was the deputy chief of staff and the mind behind Trump’s (anti-) immigration policies. They added that her latest round of calls this week came only after it became clear that Trump was ready to appoint a new chief of staff.
Earlier reporting noted: Katie Miller has defended her reported lobbying efforts to secure a top White House position for her husband, Stephen Miller.
She made around half a dozen calls to people close to Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several individuals connected to Vice President JD Vance, the POLITICO report said. “He started telling people he was done with Susie,” the person with direct knowledge said, referring to Trump’s reaction after the election. Trump called several allies in the days following the election, expressing anger over some of his top advisers, including Wiles and her allies, according to two people close to the White House. She knew that,” one of them said. Wiles, who recently underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer, had herself been considering leaving after the midterms, according to two other people close to the White House. Reacting to a the news report, she said wives should support their husbands and added that those who do not should find a new partner. Earlier reporting noted: According to the POLITICO report, Katie Miller contacted several people close to US President Donald Trump, asking them to speak to the president in support of her husband if they believed he was a better choice than other potential candidates. Earlier reporting noted: The report said her lobbying efforts stretched over several weeks as Trump considered possible successors to Susie Wiles, who was then serving as White House chief of staff.
Katie worked at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration and served on the White House coronavirus task force. During his second term, she worked with Elon Musk on the Department of Government Efficiency initiative before launching a podcast that featured senior administration officials. Her campaign to secure the position for her husband gained momentum after the midterm elections. “This is what happens when you get creamed. “There was just no saving Susie.