Stephen Miller has been by President Trump’s side for most of the last 10 years of the president’s political career, taking center stage on some of the president’s biggest battles – from border security to culture wars.
The crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital is Miller’s latest project, working to make his own mark as Trump and his administration officials fan out across the city to highlight a federal take over.
“Trump sees transforming Washington, D.C. as a victory that would define his legacy, and Miller is the one shaping and driving that message,” an aide in Trump’s first term said.
Miller, who serves as deputy chief of staff, joined Trump on Thursday evening to greet federal law enforcement agents who have been patrolling D.C at a U.S. Park Police facility in Anacostia. Miller stood next to Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem while the president touted the success of the crime crackdown.
Days prior, Miller joined Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Union Station to meet with National Guard troops, during which the deputy chief of staff railed against what he called “stupid white hippies” who were protesting the federal law enforcement in the nation’s capital.
As a key player in Trump’s orbit, Miller has a hand in major policy decisions, especially on domestic matters like issues of immigration and crime in cities that are run by Democrats. Trump said on Friday that the federal government would turn its attention to Chicago next.
“He is the 85 percent center of gravity in the White House,” a source close to the White House said of Miller. “It’s almost like open knowledge that if he’s not involved in it then it’s not important.”
“This is square right in the middle of his world. All the executive orders, all the focus— he spent four years putting together, here’s what we’re going to do when we take over. Crime is the first cousin to immigration. And deporting illegal aliens, criminal aliens, the whole nine yards and it’s the centerpiece of the progressives-had-destroyed-the-country-conservative-retake thing from that wing of the MAGA movement.”
On Tuesday, Miller visited Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Terry Cole, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. police chief Pamela Smith as part of his work on coordinating the federal response with local D.C. officials during the crime crackdown.
The DEA said on X that his visit was “highlighting strong federal & local partnerships to #MakeDCSafeAgain.”
He has also made multiple Fox News appearances to talk about the effort in D.C., railing against other mayors like ones Boston and celebrating the work of the federal agents in D.C.
“All you see all day long are crazy Democrats screeching on TV on behalf of foreign terrorists, hardened criminals and violent illegal aliens,” Miller said on Tuesday.
“The sigh of relief that I have seen from the local communities in this city,” Miller said last week. “President Trump is making D.C. safe, livable, clean and secure, not just for the people who live here but for every American citizen whose birthright is to visit our nation’s capital.”
As of Friday morning, 719 arrests had been made as part of the federal crackdown on crime. Of those arrests, 300 were illegal immigrants and five of those arrested have been known gang members, including one MS-13 gang member.
Over all 2,300 federal law enforcement worked in D.C. on Thursday night, the White House said, and the number has been increasing by a few hundred on a daily basis as red state governors have sent more National Guard into the city.
One area of success for Miller is his messaging approach to the city’s homeless problem, the first-term Trump aide said.
“For years, cities like Washington, D.C., treated homelessness as a housing affordability problem, which pushed the idea that living on the street was an acceptable alternative so long as civil liberties were preserved. What we’re seeing Miller do is flipping that script,” the former aide said. “His message is that the real crisis is driven by drug abuse, mental illness, and criminal activity, and that is why there is broad support for moving people indoors and into treatment.”
Meanwhile, the majority of D.C. residents aren’t supportive of the anti-crime push.
A survey from The Washington Post this week found 69 percent of D.C. residents said they “strongly” oppose the president’s decision to take federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department, and 10 percent said they “somewhat” oppose the move.
Miller on Wednesday at Union Station bashed those who have protested the federal enforcement in D.C., calling them “communists.”
“All these demonstrators you’ve seen out here in recent days, all these elderly white hippies, they’re not part of the city and never have been. And by the way, most of the citizens who live in Washington, D.C., are Black,” he said.
“So we’re going to ignore these stupid white hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old,” Miller added. “And we’re going to get back to the business of protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington, D.C.”
When Trump first said he would activate hundreds of National Guard troops to take over D.C.’s police department, he argued it was to “take our capital back” with a focus on making D.C. clean and rid of homelessness on the streets.
While dozens of homeless encampments have been removed and illegal firearms have been seized, illegal immigrants are another major focus of the crackdown.
Of the 300 illegal immigrant arrests so far, “many” of them have been arrested for additional crimes or having outstanding warrants and convictions, according to the White House, without giving a specific number.
Nationwide, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have hit a pace of arresting 930 illegal immigrants a day and deporting more than 1,400 illegal immigrants daily, The Washington Times reported.
Trump, with Miller prominent in his strategy-making, ran on a platform in 2024 of promising mass deportations and security at the southern border.
Tying immigration into the D.C. crime crackdown is part of the larger debate that proved a winning issue with voters.
“A lot of what he talks about resonates with the debate,” the source close to the White House said of Miller. “There’s alignment there, so it’s reinforcing. And I think Trump very much likes to get the roar of the crowd. If it seems like it’s something that’s going to drive his base, then he dives headfirst.”
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