Stephen Miller Testimony Requested by Democrats

BY Chris Walker April 22, 2019

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, has made a formal invitation to White House aide Stephen Miller to talk about the administration’s controversial immigration policies.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 26: Senior Advisor to the President Stephen Miller attends a business session with state governors hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room at the White House February 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. The National Governors Association is holding its annual winter meeting this week in Washington. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The move is a formal one that Miller is likely to reject. Miller has until April 24 to respond to Cummings’ invite, which per the committee chair’s letter, would have him speaking on May 1 if he accepted.

Cummings’ letter laid out the reasons behind his desire to hear Miller speak.

“I am inviting you to testify before the committee because it appears that you are one of the primary moving forces behind some of the most significant — and in my view, troubling — immigration policies coming out of the Trump White House,” Cummings wrote, per reporting from CBS News.

House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings wants Stephen Miller to appear before his Committee next month to explain his involvement in the White House's "troubling" immigration policies. https://t.co/aQ8v0lm8LY

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 21, 2019

Miller is a policy aide whose focus is specifically on immigration policy. It was previously reported by the Associated Press earlier this month that a shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security, which included the forced resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, was spearheaded by Miller.

The former secretary’s ouster was particularly controversial. Because she refused to enforce policy desired by the president that would violate established law, Nielsen was asked to resign, per reporting from New York Magazine.

Cummings wrote that the invitation at this time to Miller to speak is, at this point, “voluntary.” In his letter, Cummings detailed the specific policy initiatives he wanted Miller to discuss before the committee.

“I am offering you an opportunity to make your case to the committee and the American people about why you — and presumably President Trump — believe it is good policy for the Trump administration to take the border to deter them [immigrants] from coming to the United States, transferring asylum seekers to sanctuary cities as a form of illegal retribution against your political adversaries, and firing top administration officials who refuse orders to violate the law,” Cummings wrote.