Last week, President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller, his longtime adviser and architect of the administration’s widely unpopular immigration agenda, his new chief of staff. With the midterm elections delivering a Democratic majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Miller, whose titles until now were deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, will likely play a critical role in shaping the White House’s agenda over the next two years.
There is probably no one who understands Miller better than journalist Jean Guerrero. During Trump’s first administration, Guerrero became fascinated by Miller, who, like her, had grown up in Southern California, surrounded by immigrants, in largely liberal (or at least not hard-line conservative) communities. How, she wondered, did this man, whose family came to the US fleeing antisemitic pogroms, who grew up in close proximity to immigrants, come to align himself with white supremacist and anti-immigrant views?
Her research culminated in Hatemonger, her 2020 biography of Miller, in which she charted his rapid ascent to power in the first Trump administration and dove into the ideas, mentors, and experiences that formed the foundations of Miller’s beliefs.
“Stephen Miller has been a key player in delivering on President Trump’s America First agenda including spearheading the administration’s crime crackdown including in DC and Memphis, record setting deregulation, unleashing American energy, dismantling drug cartels, and securing our border. In his new role, he will continue to deliver historic successes for the American people,” says White House spokesperson Lauren Bis.
WIRED spoke to Guerrero about where Miller goes from here in his new role, and the ways in which her understanding of Miller has evolved during Trump’s second term.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
WIRED: Miller has now ascended to the most powerful role he has ever occupied. Is this something he has always been aiming for?
Jean Guerrero: Stephen Miller has had a disproportionate amount of power for a very long time. He’s been so instrumental in so much of what Trump has done, starting from the first campaign to today. So regardless of the role that Stephen Miller’s had, he always somehow turns that role into something more than it has been historically.
While I haven’t been necessarily talking to people in this administration, I suspected that this was coming, and when I heard the news I wasn’t at all surprised. I remember thinking that Stephen Miller was going to, if not immediately then at some point, be named chief of staff because of the fact that he has been the most effective sycophant in Trump’s orbit, and has been his longest-lasting and most trusted adviser.
