More than 100 members of Congress sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday demanding that he immediately fire senior adviser Stephen Miller, whose “affinity for white nationalism” was the subject of a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The SPLC published dozens of email exchanges last week between Miller and former Breitbart News editor Katie McHugh that were sent in 2015 and 2016. In the emails, Miller “promoted white nationalist literature, pushed racist immigration stories and obsessed over the loss of Confederate symbols after Dylann Roof’s murderous rampage,” the SPLC states.
Miller encouraged McHugh to aggregate stories from the white supremacist website American Renaissance and recommended that she read “Camp of the Saints,” a French dystopian novel popular among white nationalists.
Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), and Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) led the effort to issue a letter to Trump demanding Miller’s termination.
“A documented white nationalist has no place in any presidential administration, and especially not in such an influential position,” the letter begins, asking Trump to “immediately remove” Miller from the administration.
“Last week, numerous emails sent by Mr. Miller were made public that clearly establish that he is an avid white nationalist and conspiracy theorist. These emails included material exposing Miller’s support of white supremacist ideology and literature, xenophobic conspiracy theories, as well as his promotion of white supremacist websites,” the letter continues.
It was signed by 107 members of Congress, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Jerry Nadler (D-NY-10), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), and Steve Cohen (D-TN-09).
The letter to President Trump claims that Miller “brought his dedication to white nationalism with him into your administration and translated this hateful ideology directly into your administration’s discriminatory immigration policies.”
“Miller’s emails and the sentiments expressed in them are incompatible with public service and render him unfit to shape any policy—immigration or otherwise,” the letter concludes. “We refuse to tolerate white nationalism and xenophobia in the White House or elsewhere in the United States. Mr. Miller must be fired immediately.”
The White House hadn’t yet responded to the letter as of Thursday afternoon, but stood by Miller when the SPLC initially released its report.
“I work with Stephen. I know Stephen. He loves this country and hates bigotry in all forms—and it deeply concerns me as to why so many on the left consistently attack Jewish members of this administration,” deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ilhan Omar” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Rashida Tlaib” by Rashida Tlaib.
_(cropped)(2).jpg){kind=link}