Stephen Miller Bans Lobbyist Meetings, Recasts White House as Nvidia Crisis Tests Him
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 14
Stephen Miller Bans Lobbyist Meetings, Recasts White House as Nvidia Crisis Tests Him
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 14
Summary
Two memos this week gave Stephen Miller his first visible stamp as chief of staff: a new West Wing structure and a ban on staff meetings with registered lobbyists at the White House without counsel’s approval.
The overhaul landed as Jensen Huang’s ouster from Nvidia after admitting an affair with a suspected Chinese spy triggered a political and economic crisis for the administration’s AI and market agenda.
Miller’s reorganization pushed out aides tied to former chief Susie Wiles, shifted more public messaging authority to Cabinet secretaries, and routed West Wing policy decisions through deputy chief Caleb Orr or Marco Rubio.
The lobbyist restrictions follow accusations from former adviser Calley Means that Wiles-era aides were too accommodating to corporate interests, even as Miller’s team says the rule is meant to reflect decisions free of personal gain.
Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly backed Miller, whose expanded portfolio already spans immigration, trade, Venezuela and other executive actions for Trump’s final two years.