Stephen Miller wants Trump to dismiss more senior officials at DHS: report

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller reportedly wants President Trump to fire at least two more senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials in addition to outgoing Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. 

CNN, citing Trump administration officials, reported that Miller is pushing for director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Lee Cissna, and the department’s general counsel, John Mitnick, to be dismissed. 

{mosads}A Trump administration official added to the news network that questions have also mounted about the job security of DHS Under Secretary of Management Claire Grady. Grady, the current acting deputy secretary, is next in line to be acting secretary under law. 

But Trump announced on Sunday that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan would become acting secretary once Nielsen leaves her top role at DHS. 

Miller, an advocate of hard-line immigration policies, has reportedly gained increasing clout inside the Trump administration. Trump recently told aides in the Oval Office that Miller was in charge of issues related to immigration and the border, a person familiar with the meeting told CNN. 

The White House and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Trump abruptly announced on Sunday that Nielsen was leaving her post as Homeland Security secretary. Nielsen, who took over as head of the agency in 2017, helped lead the Trump administration’s sprawling efforts with regard to immigration enforcement and disaster relief, among other things. 

She faced intense scrutiny in 2018 from Democratic lawmakers over her role in the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy that led to thousands of family separations along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump would later sign an order to end the practice. 

NBC News reported on Monday that a recent push from Trump to renew the policy led to Nielsen’s ouster. Nielsen had reportedly resisted the directive, straining her relationship with the president. 

Trump is also removing U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles from his position, according to CNN. An administration official told the network that the dismissal was part of a “purge” at DHS coinciding with Nielsen’s resignation.

The official said that Cissna and Mitnick would likely depart soon.