Stephen Miller’s staying power: From the Politics Desk

This is the online version of From the political officea daily newsletter bringing you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we take an in-depth look at Stephen Miller’s vast influence in the White House. Additionally, we explore how President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda has put renewed emphasis on the Bill of Rights.

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—Adam Wollner

Stephen Miller’s White House Reach Goes Far Beyond Immigration

By Peter Nicholas, Matt Dixon and Katherine Doyle

Most people know Stephen Miller like the steel face of Donald Trumpthe expulsion campaign.

But Miller has other jobs in the West Wing – lots of other jobs.

Miller’s portfolio: On any given day, Miller could push to fix dry and faulty fountains in Washington, D.C., or to replace broken security cameras on city streets, a senior administration official said. He also contributes to the president’s efforts to impose changes on college campuses intended to uproot what Trump sees as an entrenched liberal culture.

At 10 a.m., Miller schedules a daily meeting with top federal officials where the topic might be the sinking of a boat in the Caribbean that the administration considers suspicious or the dismantling of a drug cartel.

Marco Rubio He may have held the most titles during Trump’s second term (four at one point), but Miller seems to hold the biggest jumble of assignments. He is both homeland security adviser and White House policy chief — a long leash that allows him to wade into almost any foreign or domestic priority put forward by Trump.

Interviews with 13 current and former Trump administration officials and lawmakers — many of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly — suggest that the breadth of Miller’s portfolio may partly explain his persistence in Trump world. He appears to have survived the national outcry over the killing by federal agents of two Americans in Minnesota who were protesting an immigration crackdown that he championed and that the administration recently eased.

“The hammer”: Another reason for Miller’s longevity might be just that: his longevity. Many people who participated in Trump’s first campaign in 2016 are long gone: they have become peripheral figures in the Trump world or have been exiled altogether. Miller is an original and one of the few left standing – “the hammer” responsible for propelling Trump’s promises to fruition, as a former White House chief strategist. Steve Bannon described it in an interview.

After years in Trump’s company, Miller has made himself almost indispensable.

“All of the executive orders signed in the first day, the first week and the first month are things that Stephen selected as executive orders that would be drafted, reviewed, edited and followed up on,” a former White House official said.

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Bill of Rights put to the test following Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota

By Allan Smith and Scott Wong

In and out of court, more than half of the amendments enshrined in the Bill of Rights face challenges as a direct result of the president Donald TrumpMinnesota’s immigration enforcement surge.

During his second term, Trump and his administration have been aggressive in pushing the boundaries of political convention, leading to a number of legal challenges. Trump’s efforts to eliminate the birthright, freeze federal funds and circumvent Congress through executive orders have tested the separation of powers.

The Twin Cities campaign, however, has been a hot spot, with fights over at least six – the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and 10 – of the first 10 amendments. Conservative-leaning academics see lawyers and judges overstepping their bounds in inflammatory cases and opinions, while their liberal-leaning counterparts see notable disregard by the Trump administration for the provisions of the Bill of Rights.

Randy Barnettdirector of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, said he considers the battle over the Bill of Rights in Minneapolis “unprecedented” because of the number of outlandish claims he thinks advocates have made that have gained traction with district court judges.

In the courts, the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Amendments have been at the heart of legal battles over specific immigration enforcement actions.

John Yoowho served as president George W. BushThe state Department of Justice said many constitutional fights take place because of unstable areas of immigration law.

“There are very few cases before the Supreme Court on this, and very few on federal and state accountability,” said Yoo, a staunch defender of presidential power who helped write the “torture memos” during interrogations after the Sept. 11 attacks. “So any time you have that kind of uncertainty, that’s where people step in – the lower courts, the litigants – and just start getting creative.”

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That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. Today’s newsletter was written by Adam Wollner.

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