Jeffries Calls New Chief of Staff Stephen Miller a Stone Cold Racist on His First Day

WASHINGTON: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Stephen Miller a "stone cold racist" at a news conference on Monday, November 9, 2026, and said he has no interest in working with the new White House chief of staff when Democrats take control of Congress in January. Miller started in the chief of staff job the same day.

The exchange at the news conference

A reporter asked Jeffries whether Miller can be a viable partner for Democrats. "No," Jeffries said. "Stephen Miller is a stone cold racist. His track record speaks for itself. And I've got zero interest in working with that kind of individual." USA Today reported the remarks from the November 9 news conference on Capitol Hill, held as the House returned for the first day of its lame duck session. CNN's live coverage of Congress on Monday reported the same remarks from the same wide ranging press conference, at which Jeffries also defended Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and took questions on the work Congress faces in the lame duck period and beyond.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Jeffries' remarks, USA Today reported.

Jeffries had already signalled the position a day earlier. In a November 8 interview on ABC's "This Week," he said: "There's not going to be any opportunity, certainly, to work with Stephen Miller and what he represents." On CBS Mornings on November 9, in a transcript published by his own office, Jeffries repeated that Democrats can work with the administration on lowering costs without working with Miller, and said Miller has blood on his hands as the architect of its deportation policy.

How Miller reached the job

President Donald Trump promoted Miller last week to replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff. The change followed the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate and flipped double digit Republican seats in each chamber. Miller was previously a deputy chief of staff, and his first day in the new role was Monday, November 9.

Miller is the leading architect of Trump's immigration agenda. USA Today reported that he has backed the second term mass deportations and efforts to end birthright citizenship, and also backed travel restrictions from Muslim majority countries and family separation policies at the southern border. Democratic critics and civil rights groups have long accused Miller of being a white nationalist, USA Today reported. Jeffries has used the phrase "stone cold racist" before, for right wing influencer Laura Loomer and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

What it means for January

Jeffries is expected to become the next Speaker of the House, and the first Black speaker in the nation's history, when the new Congress takes office. The choice becomes official only at a January 3 House vote.

His refusal to work with Miller sets an early marker for the new Congress. The chief of staff is normally the main channel between a president and congressional leaders. With that channel publicly closed on Miller's first day, any deal between the White House and the incoming Democratic majorities will have to run through other people, or not run at all. The lame duck Congress still has Republican majorities until January 3, and a government funding deadline falls on December 11.