New White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has proposed that President Donald Trump begin ending the war with Iran. The New York Times reports this, citing several sources familiar with the conversations.
According to the publication, Miller advocated this position while persuading Trump to appoint him to the post. The idea of ending the conflict, however, was viewed by some of the president’s supporters as a betrayal of the administration’s stated hard-line policy toward Iran. The claim about the conversation has not been publicly confirmed by the White House.
Trump announced Miller’s appointment on November 6. He will take office on November 9, replacing Susie Wiles, who will move to the president’s political operation.
Trump: “I wanted to make a change”
The president explained his decision by citing the need for change. “I wanted to make a change,” Trump told reporters. He described Wiles’s work as very good, but added: “Sometimes in life you have to make changes.”
Trump later rejected the claim that the change was directly linked to the Republicans’ poor performance in the midterm elections. “It’s not because of the elections. It was simply time,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
The Republicans lost their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, increasing political pressure on the administration. The war with Iran, economic difficulties and fuel prices were among the issues that influenced the election result, the Associated Press reports.
Miller Takes Key Post in the White House
Miller had previously served as deputy chief of staff for policy. He is one of Trump’s longest-serving advisers and was involved in shaping immigration policy and the deportation program. Before that, he joined Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter.
Despite his public support for Trump’s hard-line policy toward Iran, Miller presented the idea of limiting the conflict to the president as part of his arguments for the new position. According to The Atlantic, which cites information from The New York Times, this position is particularly sensitive for the president’s supporters, who consider any retreat in the war incompatible with the principles of the “America First” movement.
With Miller taking office, the White House will change the closest political circle around Trump. The new chief of staff will begin work at a time when the president must balance pressure to end the war with Iran against expected investigations and clashes with the Democratic majority in Congress.
Sources: inquirer.com, apnews.com, cbsnews.com