Amid growing fallout from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti – marked by the demotion of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and a “late-night crisis” meeting between President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – The New Republic’s Hafiz Rashid flagged several signs as to which Trump official might be “sidelined” next.
Bovino, who’s been on the frontlines of many of the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation operations, was reportedly ordered on Monday to leave Minneapolis, stripped of his access to social media, and is apparently headed for retirement, The Atlantic reported.
And Noem, who’s become the face of Trump’s mass deportations as head of the DHS, appeared to have been sidelined Monday after Trump announced he was sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to the state of Minnesota in the wake of the chaos sparked by Pretti’s killing by Border Patrol officers Saturday.
As for who may be “sidelined” next, Rashid pointed to several signs that it could very well be Trump’s own deputy White House chief of staff and architect of the administration’s deportation policy, Stephen Miller.
‘Is Miller also going to be sidelined along with Noem?” Rashid pondered in a report published in The New Republic Tuesday.
Signs that suggest Miller might be the next Trump official to be placed on the bench, Rashid noted, included that he was “noticeably absent” from Trump’s “crisis” meeting Monday night with Noem, despite his deep involvement in helping shape the White House’s immigration policy.
Instead, those in attendance included Noem’s top aid Corey Lewandowski – who’s long been rumored to be having an affair with her – Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Communications Director Steven Cheung.
Additionally, the White House appeared to throw Miller under the bus Monday after Leavitt tried to distance Trump from Miller’s comments on Pretti, who he called a “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents” — remarks that sparked outrage and are unsupported by evidence.