GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) warned on Sunday that the White House staff is undercutting President Trump and Congress’s ability to get a deal on immigration.
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“Every time we have a proposal it is only yanked back by staff members. As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration, we’re going nowhere,” Graham told reporters as he headed into a closed-door negotiation with a bipartisan group of senators.
He added that “the White House staff, I think, is making it very difficult.”
Miller, a White House aide, is well known for his conservative views on immigration. He was formerly a staffer for then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who frequently opposed bipartisan immigration deals.
Miller authored the White House’s wide-ranging immigration plan, which includes wall funding and cracking down on cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law.
Graham said on Sunday that Miller has “been an outlier for years” on the issue of immigration.
The White House fired back at Graham.
“As long as Senator Graham chooses to support legislation that sides with people in this country illegally and unlawfully instead of our own American citizens, we are going nowhere. He’s been an outlier for years,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley.
Democrats have repeatedly bristled at Miller’s involvement in the immigration talks, arguing he isn’t a constructive force in the immigration talks.