Stephen Miller's Office Orders White House Staff to Clear Lobbyist Meetings With Counsel

New White House chief of staff Stephen Miller's office has issued a memo requiring staff to get prior approval from the Office of White House Counsel before meeting lobbyists, Politico reported Thursday. A dozen lobbyists told Politico the approach will make it harder to influence policy in the administration's final two years.

The memo, obtained by Politico, says meetings must be with registered lobbyists and about government policy. It opens with praise of the president: “No President in history has fought more relentlessly, selflessly or courageously for the American People than President Trump.” Hunter Morgen of Ballard Partners, who worked with Miller in the first administration, said Miller “operates based on policy outcomes that will advance the president’s agenda.” Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official who worked with Miller, has called him a micromanager with reach throughout government.

The right-leaning Breitbart and Daily Signal do not write about the lobbying rules in the excerpts provided. Breitbart says the legacy media greeted Miller's promotion with an attack on his wardrobe rather than on policy. The Daily Signal argues that media label figures on the right hardliners but not those on the left, citing a Nov. 7 Associated Press headline calling Miller an immigration hardliner. Both frame the story as media bias. HuffPost, on the left, leads with the memo and calls its Trump praise a suck-up. It leans on Politico's lobbyist sources and Taylor's description of Miller, and it does not mention his clothing or the hardliner label. The two sides agree only that Miller is the new chief of staff. Alternative and independent outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing.