Congressional Democrats press new call for Stephen Miller's resignation: 'A known white nationalist'

Democratic congressional leaders have demanded the resignation of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller in a joint resolution, saying "his white supremacist, anti-immigrant ideology has no place in our country."

This article first appeared in Salon.

The text of the resolution condemned "for trafficking in bigotry, hatred and divisive political rhetoric and for promoting policies that are inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as a senior advisor to the president."

It referred to published emails in which Miller encouraged the right-wing publication Breitbart "to incorporate white supremacist, racist and eugenics ideologies in its news coverage" and urged the website to refer favorably to former President Calvin Coolidge's racist 1924 immigration law. The resolution also noted that a former Breitbart editor said Miller would try to "'spin a narrative where immigrants of color were not only dangerous, violent individuals but also posed an existential threat to America."

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, issued a statement Thursday about the resolution saying that "it is unacceptable for the Trump administration to knowingly install a known white nationalist and believer of white supremacist ideology in a position of power and influence over federal policy."

He added that "when we see the families suffering at the border or being torn apart by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE raids, we can look to Stephen Miller as the main architect of the administration's cruel anti-immigrant policies." Castro is the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., issued her own statement Thursday, saying that "Stephen Miller is the hateful force behind the cruel and xenophobic policies that have defined the Trump administration. His white supremacist, anti-immigrant ideology has no place in our country, let alone the White House. I'm proud to lead this effort on behalf of immigrant families in California and throughout the country." Harris was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020. She previously served as San Francisco's district attorney and California's attorney general.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that combats bigotry, published leaked emails in November sent by Miller to former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh. Those emails highlighted Miller's racist views, including his sharing articles from white nationalist publications like VDARE and American Renaissance, as well as the right-wing conspiracy theory site InfoWars. Miller also urged Breitbart to promote a racist French novel called "The Camp of the Saints" by Jean Raspail, reached out to anti-Muslim extremist Pamela Geller and promoted the racist theory that there is a "great replacement" occur of whites with non-whites due to liberal immigration policies.

At least one conservative joined liberals in condemning Miller's views and calling for his resignation after his emails to McHugh were leaked.

"This is not about 'identity politics,'" Fox News political analyst Juan Williams wrote at the time. "It can't be quickly dismissed by the far-right as the excesses of 'snowflakes,' who can't handle policy arguments without playing the race card. And this is not about 'cancel culture,' the over-reaction to a slip of the tongue, calling out offensive language by a comedian or a commentator.