Ilhan Omar Slams 'White Nationalist' Stephen Miller For Allegedly Spearheading DHS Purge

Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) on Monday called President Donald Trump's senior policy advisor Stephen Miller a "white nationalist" after reports claimed the presidential aide was responsible for the recent Department of Homeland Security staff shake up.

"Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage," Omar tweeted, alongside a link to a Splinter News article titled "Of Course It's Stephen Miller."

Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage. https://t.co/7NyMDgojd7

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 8, 2019

Several news outlets have reported that Miller was behind the decision to force Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation and the withdrawal of Ronald Vitiello's nomination to be the next confirmed head of Immigration.

After Nielsen posted her resignation letter to Twitter over the weekend, Secret Service Director Randolph Alles was subsequently ousted on Monday. Two other officials, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Francis Cissna and Office of the General Counsel's John Mitnick, are also rumored to be on their way out.

Some of these personnel changes have been attributed to the advisings of Miller, who the president recently empowered to lead his administration's plans for harsher border policies. An official told CNN that Miller is now "executing his plan" with a decapitation of the DHS department's leadership. According to CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins, Miller also "directly lobbied President Trump to withdraw Ron Vitiello's nomination to lead ICE" because "Vitiello was not fully in favor of closing the southern border" between the United States and Mexico. Although Collins had quoted two anonymous sources, her findings were backed by the Washington Post, which reported similar things shared by a senior administration official.

Since taking office in January, congresswoman Omar has fast-become one of the most outspoken freshman political figures on Capitol Hill in recent years. Last week, Omar condemned Trump's border wall as a "monument to racism" and slammed the president for declaring a "fake emergency" so she can fulfill his promise to his base of a wall on the southern U.S. border.

"Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border! If no action, Border, or large sections of Border, will close. This is a National Emergency!" the president wrote on Twitter.

Omar responded tweeting: "This is a fake emergency! Donald Trump is lying about the border in order to build his monument to racism."

GettyImages-1134075968
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a House Education and Labor Committee Markup on the H.R. 582 Raise The Wage Act, in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. On Monday, Omar... Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer



To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go