Sen. Lindsey Graham used a Hannity appearance to dismiss the idea that Donald Trump could be persuaded to push Stephen Miller out of his orbit.
“To my colleagues who believe that you can convince Donald Trump that Stephen Miller is a liability for him, good luck with that,” Graham said. “When this clock strikes 12 on the Trump era, there’ll be a few people walking out the door with Donald Trump. Stephen Miller will be in that group. So, I want everybody to know on the Republican side that Stephen Miller is not the problem. Sanctuary cities is the problem.”
Graham argued that the turmoil playing out in Minnesota and elsewhere should be pinned on sanctuary-city policies, not on the officials and advisers tasked with carrying out federal immigration enforcement. In his telling, those local and state approaches create the conditions for disorder—and he urged Congress to move to eliminate sanctuary-city protections in states he said are defying federal law.
He also framed Trump’s leadership as a mix of restraint and resolve, describing the president as “a man of peace, but not to be trifled with,” while pointing to foreign-policy flashpoints such as Iran as evidence of that posture. But Graham repeatedly pulled the focus back to domestic enforcement priorities, saying the administration is taking “concrete steps” to confront what he sees as systemic problems tied to sanctuary-city frameworks.
The comments arrived as criticism of Miller continues to build from lawmakers, labor groups, and activists who blame him for shaping hardline immigration policy and the confrontations that have followed. Graham, however, signaled that the pressure campaign is unlikely to matter inside Trump’s inner circle—especially given Trump’s reputation for sticking with advisers he trusts.
Miller has long been a lightning rod in national politics, credited by supporters as a driving force behind tougher border and immigration measures and condemned by critics as the chief strategist of a punitive agenda. Even among Trump allies, his influence is often described as both formidable and feared—an image Graham reinforced by insisting Miller’s position is effectively secure.
For now, Graham’s message to Republicans and critics alike was blunt: don’t expect the administration to change course by changing personnel. In his view, the target isn’t Miller—it’s sanctuary cities.
