Stephen Miller gunning for Kristi Noem as her star fades at the White House: report
Miller, 39, gained notoriety as an incendiary agitator at the his local high school in Santa Monica, California. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters
December 08, 2025
Miller, 39, gained notoriety as an incendiary agitator at the his local high school in Santa Monica, California. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters
Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s future within Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly on “thin ice,” reports MS NOW’s Jake Traylor — with highly influential Trump adviser Stephen Miller reportedly seeking her ouster.
Over the weekend, The Bulwark reported that White House patience with the controversial Noem is waning over her escapades and “it was made clear that Trump is indeed considering moving on from Noem. Two of those officials said they believed such a move could happen 'really soon,' relaying that they’ve been told Noem has been taking on less of a role in directing department memos.”
On Monday, Traylor expanded on the Bulwark’s reporting and pointed out that, not only is Miller grossly unhappy with the DHS head, about Republican governors’ complaints about the former South Dakota governor, but he is also displeased with how she is spending the billions of taxpayer dollars Republicans have been shoveling her way.
As Traylor explained to host Anna Cabrerra, “Now at the center of her ousting is the deputy chief of staff to the White House, Stephen Miller, who focuses on policy and homeland security. The frustration from Miller to want to oust Kristi Noem is twofold, a white house official tells me.”
“The first part of that is that there is really growing frustration around her inability to build out detention facilities; the big, beautiful bill that was passed earlier this year had $45 billion allocated to Noem to oversee the building out of these immigration enforcement facilities,” he added. “Miller has grown increasingly frustrated that she has not done that in the efficient time that has been allocated.”
“Secondly, there have been multiple governors, this White House official tells me, that have called Donald Trump personally to complain about Noem, saying that she is not being efficient with FEMA resources, disaster relief funds to the state,” he elaborated.
“So, really, a twofold frustration that Miller personally has with Kristi Noem and the White House official that I spoke with said that the decision is not actually fully finalized in terms of her ousting.”
He added that there is reportedly a “short-list” of replacements for Noem being compiled and headed by outgoing Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who doesn’t have the controversies that have dogged Noem since she made a run at being Trump's running mate before he selected Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).