Why Stephen Miller Was Not Included As Noem Gets Two Hours With Trump Whilst Immigration Czar Stays Outside

President Trump held a two-hour emergency meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday evening, but the absence of one key figure spoke volumes about the administration's response to its Minneapolis crisis. Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff who architected Trump's immigration policies and publicly labelled Alex Pretti a 'would-be assassin', was notably excluded from the discussions.

The meeting, which Noem reportedly requested amid rumours her job is in jeopardy, took place as the administration scrambles to contain fallout from two fatal shootings of US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis this month. Also in attendance were White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and communications director Stephen Cheung. Miller's exclusion from a discussion about the very immigration policies he designed raised immediate questions about whether the hardline adviser is being sidelined.

Trump Administration Distances From Inflammatory Claims

The White House spent Monday afternoon actively distancing Trump from inflammatory statements made by both Noem and Miller in the immediate aftermath of Pretti's killing on Saturday. When asked whether the president agreed with their characterisations of the 37-year-old ICU nurse as a 'domestic terrorist', press secretary Leavitt notably declined to support their remarks.

'I have not heard the president characterise Mr Pretti in that way,' Leavitt told reporters during Monday's briefing. 'However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.' The careful language marked a sharp departure from Miller's immediate response on Saturday, when he posted on social media that Pretti was a 'would-be assassin' who 'tried to murder federal law enforcement'.

Multiple videos of the shooting and eyewitness accounts have contradicted those initial claims. The footage shows Pretti, who was legally carrying a firearm, holding his phone and being disarmed before Border Patrol agents fired at least 10 shots into him.

Internal White House Fractures Emerge

Well-placed Department of Homeland Security sources said both Wiles and Miller have 'fully turned against' Noem and her chief adviser Corey Lewandowski. According to two senior officials, Miller is furious that Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and his aggressive 'turn and burn' tactics were chosen to become the focal point of the nationwide immigration blitz—a decision made by Lewandowski and supported by Noem.

The administration finds itself in a bind because senior officials believe Noem is incapable of running DHS without Lewandowski at her side, and that unwinding the whole trio risks making Trump look like he is retreating. MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire noted the significance of Miller's absence during Monday's 'Morning Joe' broadcast. 'We saw Bovino being moved out, and then we had Secretary Noem and Corey Lewandowski in this meeting at the White House yesterday—Stephen Miller, not part of it, interestingly enough,' Lemire said.

Border Czar Homan Deployed to Clean Up Mess

Trump announced Monday morning that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, bypassing the normal chain of command where Noem and Bovino had been overseeing operations. 'He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.'

The move is widely seen as Trump pushing Noem to the sidelines. Unlike Bovino, who reports to Noem through the DHS hierarchy, Homan will report directly to the president. Bovino has been ordered to leave Minneapolis and return to his previous position in California, and DHS has suspended his social media accounts.

Political Fallout Mounts

The largest union of federal workers in the US on Monday demanded the resignation or firing of both Noem and Miller following Pretti's killing. Pretti, who worked at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, was a member of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3669.

'Noem betrayed the public trust by slandering the good name of our union brother and calling him a "domestic terrorist",' said AFGE national president Everett Kelley. 'Our demand is clear: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was responsible for carrying out the policy that led to Alex's needless killing, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the architect of that policy, must resign immediately.'

Several Democrats have called for Noem's impeachment, whilst Senate Democrats have vowed to oppose a spending package that includes funding for DHS and ICE. The two fatal shootings in Minneapolis this month—Pretti and 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on 7 January—have sparked massive protests and a dramatic shift in public opinion on Trump's immigration enforcement tactics.

Miller has been the intellectual architect of Trump's immigration agenda since the first administration, and his absence from Monday's crisis meeting suggests the White House recognises that his inflammatory rhetoric and hardline approach have become political liabilities. Whether Miller's sidelining is temporary or represents a broader shift in the administration's immigration approach remains unclear. What is certain is that the Minneapolis crisis has exposed deep fractures within Trump's team over how aggressively to pursue immigration enforcement and how to respond when those operations result in the deaths of US citizens.