Several Republican lawmakers are fuming over President elevation of Stephen Miller to be his chief of staff.
“Horrible decision,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital on Friday after Trump announced his decision.
A Republican lawmaker who was granted anonymity to speak candidly said they were in “utter disbelief.”
Tensions were rising against Miller in the wake of Republicans terrible performance in Tuesdays midterm elections. Multiple House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital just moments before his promotion said Miller, who spearheads Trumps immigration policy, should be fired.
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When later asked about his promotion, one House Republican who said Miller should be fired replied simply with a facepalm emoji.
Republicans suffered historic losses that saw both the House and Senate fall into Democrats hands in the new Congress. Democrats are on pace to win more than 250 seats in the House and at least 54 in the Senate.
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And while voter analyses have shown that Trumps war in Iran and tariffs played the biggest roles in turning people away from the GOP, his handling of illegal immigration served to alienate voters in key areas. Thats in no small part due to Hispanic and Latino voters turning their backs on Republicans in places like Texas that shifted massively toward Democrats in this election cycle.
“Because of his immigration positions, I just think we ruined a lot of our goodwill with Latino voters,” Stutzman said.
The second GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that Miller ignored multiple warnings from House Republicans in the past, arguing that Trumps immigration crackdown is what voters asked for.
“I’ve been in several group meetings where a lot of us have told him, Your immigration enforcement policies are backfiring back home, our people are mad, our businesses are mad â even in deep red districts â and it is impacting not just the voters, but the donors, and everybody top to bottom,” that GOP lawmaker said. “But it looked to me like Stephen Miller was only after numbers ⦠he would not listen to us.”
Other Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital also criticized Miller but did not go as far as to say he should be fired.
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“I think he’s greatly hurt the administration and cost us many seats on Tuesday,” retiring Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital before news of Millers promotion broke. “He took an immigration policy that favored the president 2:1 in the public, over-reached and made it 2:1 unfavorable.”
“Many Republicans dont like him,” Bacon added when asked about his promotion.
Miller is widely known as Trumps right hand on immigration policy, including earlier this year when the administratio
