The Stephen Miller civics lesson for the media
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During Thursday’s White House press briefing, Stephen Miller delivered what he called a “civics lesson” on presidential authority, a moment that resonated strongly with conservatives. The deputy chief of staff for policy took the opportunity to respond to what he saw as a glaring contradiction in media narratives—concerns over Elon Musk’s influence as an “unelected bureaucrat” while seemingly ignoring former President Joe Biden’s cognitive state.
“You’re tempting me to say very harsh things about some of our media friends,” Miller quipped. “It is true that many of the people in this room for four years failed to cover the fact that Joe Biden was mentally incompetent and was not running the country.”
Miller then shifted focus to what he viewed as a fundamental misunderstanding of government structure. “It is also true that many people in this room who have used this talking point that Elon is not elected fail to understand how government works. So I’m glad for the opportunity for a brief civics lesson,” he said.
He went on to break down the structure of presidential authority, emphasizing the unique democratic mandate given to the president.
“A president is elected by the whole American people. He’s the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation, right? Judges are appointed. Members of Congress are elected at the district or state level. The Constitution, Article II has a clause known as the Vesting Clause. And it says the executive power shall be vested in a president, singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to then impose that democratic will onto the government,” Miller stated.
Miller continued by addressing what he believes to be a greater concern—the unchecked power of career bureaucrats. “The threat to democracy, indeed the existential threat to democracy, is the unelected bureaucracy of lifetime-tenured civil servants who believe they answer to no one, who believe they can do whatever they want without consequence, who believes [sic] they can set their own agenda no matter what Americans vote for.”
He specifically called out officials in the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Justice Department, asserting that they resist change despite voters electing leaders who push for reform.
“What President Trump is doing is he is removing federal bureaucrats who are defying democracy by failing to implement his lawful orders, which are the will of the whole American people,” Miller declared.
Miller’s remarks quickly gained traction online, drawing praise from conservatives who saw his response as a pointed rebuke of media bias.
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The Musk and Trump haters in the media deserved to get this lesson. Musk is clearly not a career bureaucrat. He is a very successful and unusually smart businessman. Trump is also a very successful businessman. The US is lucky to have both of them. They are both a significant improvement over Biden and his team.
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Massive wave of resignations is shaking up the federal government
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