FIRE, NOT HIRE

Republican Slams Trump’s New ‘Mistake’ After Election Wipeout

The Indiana congressman said the president’s new chief of staff should be fired, not promoted.

A Republican congressman blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to make Stephen Miller his new chief of staff.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, 50, of Indiana told CNN’s Inside Politics on Sunday that giving Miller, 41, the chief of staff role was a “mistake.”

He told host Manu Raju, 46, that promoting Miller was the worst lesson the White House could take from the defeat.

“I come from the business world, just like President Trump does,” Stutzman said. “If your team takes a beating as badly as we took this last week, you have to fire people. You don’t promote those who… were in charge of what was supposed to be delivered.”

“I think that the decision to elect Stephen Miller is a mistake,” he went on. “He’s not liked out here in the Midwest by people. They don’t like his tone.”

“Do you think that Stephen Miller should be fired?” Raju asked tentatively.

“Yes,” Stutzman replied curtly.

On Friday, Trump, 80, announced that Susie Wiles, 69, was stepping down as chief of staff to join his political operation, though he didn’t say what she would be doing there.

Until Monday, Miller was the deputy chief of staff and the driving force behind the Trump administration’s push for mass deportation.

Trump called Miller “one of my most trusted advisors” in a Truth Social post.

In Stutzman’s view, Miller never offered “a more comprehensive solution on immigration,” and the deportation message never answered longtime residents asking, “What about me?”

Stutzman said Miller would be better used as a fighter against Democrats “inside the beltway rather than being the voice to the American people,” he added. “I don’t think he’s the right messenger.”

DISBELIEF

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Stutzman had already told Fox News that the promotion was a “horrible decision,” and he isn’t the only Republican unhappy about it. In a CNN interview, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis called Miller the “worst of all possible choices.” According to Fox News, one House Republican even responded to the Miller promotion with a facepalm emoji.

Backlash against Miller’s hard-line immigration crackdown helped destroy Republicans at the ballot box. In an ABC News poll taken before Election Day, 60 percent of voters said they disapproved of how the administration was handling immigration.

Stutzman said fresh blood would show voters that Republicans had heard their concerns and were acting on them.

TALK ABOUT SPEECHLESS

Stephen Miller’s Plot for Crackdown on Free Speech Is Leaked

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“A fresh face and a new start here right now would, I think, send [a] tremendous message to the American people that the Republican Party is listening,” he said.

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The White House jumped to his defense, with spokesperson Lauren Bis telling The Hill that Miller “has been a key player in delivering on President Trump’s America First agenda since day one.”

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on Stutzman’s remarks.

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