U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday appointed a number of allies to his incoming administration, including naming longtime adviser Stephen Miller as deputy policy director.
These appointments demonstrate the new Trump administration’s tough stance on illegal immigration.
Long-time aide selected as policy director
Miller has been one of Trump’s longest-serving aides since his first campaign.
He has been key to many of Trump’s previous policy decisions, including a 2018 policy that separated thousands of immigrant families as a deterrent program.
Since leaving the White House at the end of President Trump’s first term, Miller has worked with the conservative group America, which challenges the Biden administration, the media, universities and other groups on issues such as free speech and national security. He served as chairman of First Legal.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said on social media, “This is another great choice by the president.”
Walz appointed as National Security Adviser to the President
President Trump has appointed Mike Walz as national security adviser, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press and Reuters.
Walz, a three-term Republican congressman and the first Green Beret elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, easily won reelection last week.
He chairs the House Military Readiness Subcommittee and is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Walz, an ardent Trump supporter, criticized China’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region and argued for the need for the United States to prepare for potential conflict.
His appointment does not require Senate confirmation.
Former ICE boss becomes next ‘border czar’
President Trump also announced the appointment of the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “border czar,” which does not require Senate confirmation.
“I am pleased to announce that former ICE Director and Border Control Executive Tom Homan will be joining the Trump Administration in charge of our nation’s borders,” President Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump added that Homan will be “in charge of all deportations of illegal aliens to their countries of origin.”
Mr. Homan served as Acting Director of ICE from 2017 to 2018.
Speaking at the National Conservative Conference in Washington earlier this year, Homan vowed that if Trump is re-elected, he will carry out “the largest deportation operation in the history of this country.”
Trump supporters represent Washington at UN
President Trump also selected New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik took the seat in 2014 and in the years since has become one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the House, vigorously defending him in two impeachment trials and four criminal charges.
Stefanik has little experience in foreign policy or national security, but has been a vocal supporter of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart America First fighter,” President Trump said in a statement Monday.
His appointment is the first to require Senate confirmation.
zc/lo (AP communication, AFP communication)
