Panetta Warns Stephen Miller Misunderstands Role as Chief of Staff
Former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta expresses concerns about Stephen Miller’s understanding of his role as chief of staff.
2 min read
Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, expressed concerns on Thursday during an appearance on MS NOW’s “State of Play” about Stephen Miller’s understanding of his role as chief of staff to President Donald Trump. Panetta said he is “really concerned” that Miller believes “he’s running the show,” rather than following the president’s directives.
Panetta Clarifies Role of Chief of Staff
Panetta emphasized that the chief of staff is not the president of the United States, reiterating a lesson he learned from his own experience and that of former chief of staff Jim Baker. He stated, “The first thing I learned as chief of staff to the president — and it’s something that Jim Baker as chief of staff felt very strongly — is that the chief of staff is not the president of the United States. And Steve Miller has to understand that he is not running the show. The president of the United States is running the show, and he is there to implement what the president wants to do, not what he wants to do.”
Concerns Over Miller’s Policy Influence
Panetta added that he is worried about Miller’s record and his commitment to policies that undermine immigration and push for deportation. He warned that Miller might believe he is in a position to determine policy, which he said is not the case. “So, I’m really concerned because of his record, because of his commitment to trying to really undermine immigration and push deportation, that he’s going to think that somehow he’s in a position that determines policy. That is not the case. The chief of staff is there to run the staff and to basically follow the direction of the president of the United States,” Panetta said.
Call for Accountability and Behavior
Panetta concluded by stating that he will be watching to see if Miller can behave as a true chief of staff. He reiterated his concerns, noting that Miller’s recent comments about investigations suggest he believes he is running the show, not the president. “We’ll see if Miller can behave as a true chief of staff, but I have some real concerns that he thinks he’s in a position — what he said yesterday about the investigations — I’m just very concerned that he thinks he’s running the show, not the president of the United States,” Panetta added.
Source: Breitbart
