Trump Allies React Strongly to Stephen Miller’s Behind-the-Scenes Influence

Stephen Miller, known for his aggressive tactics, has been a critical influencer in the recent shifts within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), contributing significantly to Kristi Noem’s exit. Now, as a new leader steps in, the challenges remain daunting, with Miller, one of President Trump’s most influential advisors, closely overseeing the mass deportation strategy.

According to several senior DHS officials, both current and former, Miller’s forceful involvement has not only driven Trump’s tough immigration policies but also created turbulence and uncertainty within the department. His authoritative style has been a defining feature of the administration’s approach.

Markwayne Mullin, a senator from Oklahoma, has recently taken the reins at Homeland Security following a turbulent period under Noem’s leadership. Her tenure, marred by controversy and alleged personal entanglements with advisor Corey Lewandowski, ended abruptly, paving the way for Mullin’s appointment.

Insiders from the Trump administration have indicated Miller played a significant role in undermining Noem’s position. They warn that unless President Trump curtails Miller’s influence, Mullin might face a similar fate, potentially not surviving a full year in this challenging role.

Miller’s unprecedented command over Homeland Security is evident in his daily 10 a.m. conference calls with the department’s senior officials. These meetings are where he issues strict orders to intensify deportations and, as reported by sources, often resorts to reprimanding agency leaders, cautioning them of potential termination should they fail to comply with his directives.

Multiple senior officials directly familiar with the 10am calls revealed Miller’s control of DHS resulted in some occasions that directly undermined Trump’s prior orders.

During Trump’s massive immigration crackdown in in Los Angeles in June, the President spoke with top officials and told them to avoid targeting farm workers. The next day at 10am, Miller sent out different orders.

‘Stephen got on the call the next day, and said “We’re discussing that internally” and that we should just disregard what he said,’ one official told the Daily Mail. ‘It was like the President never said anything. It was just like Stephen was in charge.’ 

Miller’s heavy-handed oversight has made him the driving force behind Trump’s immigration crackdown, while also fueling chaos and confusion within the department

Kristi Noem was pushed out of DHS in part after she appeared to blame Miller for her response to the death’s of Alex Pretti and Renee Good

‘Stephen purports to speak with the authority of the President himself, and he makes that very clear on the calls, even if it means undermining what the President just said exactly,’ the source added.

Other DHS insiders say Miller’s power, if anything, has only grown since Noem’s firing and that Mullin will govern the department with him as his marionette.

‘He was picked because Miller will be able to use him as his puppet,’ A DHS official told the Daily Mail.

Another DHS source added: ‘It’s a broken system that’s completely disconnected, and so Mullin’s problem is that he’s not gonna be able to effectively run his department, and also the heads of the agencies, like the head of CBP, the head of USCIS, and others – they are Miller’s people.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Miller for comment.

Meanwhile Noem’s chief rival, Border Czar Tom Homan, will also wield more influence over Homeland Security as sources note he and Mullin are frequently in contact with each other.

‘But that still leaves Stephen trying to call the policy level shots,’ A DHS source said. ‘Mullin and Tom will still be the implementers of Stephen’s decisions.’

Trump Insiders claim Markwayne Mullin will not last long so long as Stephen Miller is still calling the shots

In one instance, Lyons was so stressed out by Miller’s demands in LA that he had to be relieved of his duty for medical reasons

Miller not only shapes the agency’s policy direction, but also inserts himself into operational minutia, frequently undercutting ICE Director Todd Lyons and other immigration enforcement leaders.

The Daily Mail contacted Lyons for comment.

In one instance, Lyons was so stressed out by Miller’s demands in LA that he had to be relieved of his duty for medical reasons, an insider said.

‘The stress was so bad that, like Todd Lyons ended up getting relieved of duty because he was basically having a heart attack during the operation,’ a source on the call told the Daily Mail. ‘Stephen was just crushing him. And he had no ability. He had no authority to lead, like he was not empowered by Stephen to lead, because Stephen was micromanaging things so extremely.

Lyons, with a pale deadpan expression, apparently told Miller at one point: ‘I don’t know what you want me to do.’

Miller is said to have responded bluntly: ‘I want 3000 arrests a day, Todd! There’s 4 million illegal aliens in Los Angeles. If you have to go door to door, busting down doors, if you have to engage every single work party you see of brown people speaking Spanish. I don’t care!’

Politico reported on Friday that Lyons has been hospitalized on at least two occasions for stress-related issues while carrying out immigration enforcement.

Lyons is not the only ICE official who had to be taken off the job during a medical scare. Back in December, the Daily Mail reported that Tyshawn Thomas, the HR chief with ICE, had his own stress-related ‘fainting episode’ on the job, and was removed on a stretcher and rushed by ambulance to the hospital. He was transferred out of the role soon after, purportedly to the Miller-led pressures to meet hiring quotas.

The infighting and scandals that have plagued DHS over the past year have eroded public support for Trump’s mass deportation agenda, a cornerstone of his electoral mandate when he won back the White House in 2024.

The most damaging episodes were the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which Miller was at the center of.

During his 10am calls with immigration leaders, Miller was demanding agents be sent out to areas in Minneapolis where DHS knew there was a heavy presence of protesters to ‘force confrontations,’ two DHS senior sources told the Daily Mail.

One official noted that Miller repeatedly urged agents to engage protesters so the administration could win the ‘PR battle.’

‘He’s [Stephen Miller] the architect of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths’ one senior DHS official told the Daily Mail

Mere hours after a Border Patrol and ICE agents fatally shot Pretti, an ICU nurse, Miller called the victim an ‘assassin’ on social media

‘Miller said on these calls, “If we let them have the perception that their protesting is successful, then the administration will never successfully prosecute interior operations to remove aliens,”‘ a DHS source recalled to the Daily Mail.

‘So we need to engage these protesters, and we need to vanquish them by force of arms. They need to be vanquished by any force necessary,’ Miller reportedly told immigration leaders, according to the source.

Mere hours after a Border Patrol and ICE agents fatally shot Pretti, an ICU nurse, Miller called the victim an ‘assassin’ on social media.

‘This is why he f***ing needs to be fired. It’s absolutely nuts,’ another senior DHS official familiar with the calls told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s the architect of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths.’

Miller later walked back those remarks after the FBI opened up an investigation into whether the agents violated Pretti’s civil rights.

At the time Noem, facing her own pressures for mishandling the crisis, vented about Miller’s influence to others close in her circle, reportedly telling an anonymous Axios source: ‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen.’

That comment about Miller ultimately contributed to her downfall, sources tell the Daily Mail.