Miller’s organization will join a very populous ecosystem of conservative-minded legal entities, including Judicial Watch, Alliance Defending Freedom and Immigration Reform Law Institute. But unlike those entities, which tend to operate around specific issues, such as religious freedom, freedom of expression or immigration, America First Legal will focus largely on administrative law and executive reach. The focus of this question is largely derived from the experiences that Miller and other Trump veterans faced during the last administration.
Former President Donald Trump was well aware of the legal challenges during his tenure. Injunctions across the country and appeals court decisions frustrated or complicated their efforts to build a border wall with military funds, restrict immigrant visas, impose sanctions against TikTok and suspend diversity training for government officials, among numerous other initiatives policies and executive actions that have been fought by the courts.
Two people familiar with the group said they envision it becoming a conservative version of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed 400 lawsuits against the Trump administration during the former president’s four years.
Miller has placed America First Legal along with guidance from the Conservative Partnership Institute of former Senator Jim DeMint and Clinton impeachment attorney Ken Starr, who also served on Trump’s first impeachment defense team. Gene Hamilton, a former Justice Department attorney, was also involved and is expected to oversee the group’s legal work, as Miller himself is not a trained lawyer, while former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, currently a senior partner of CPI, will serve on your plate.
Three people familiar with the planning said that Miller is planning a formal implementation in the coming weeks and recently approached several people for potential funding, including Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts. A person close to Ricketts said he made no commitment to avoid a potential conflict, considering his current role as chairman of finance for the Republican National Committee.
Miller declined to comment for this story.
Some Trump allies have warned that Miller’s reputation and the existence of several other groups with similar missions could undermine the success of the new organization. Miller became famous during the Trump years for clashing with other government officials about the restrictive immigration policies he would present Trump – including the former Muslim president’s travel ban – and his efforts to speed up rule changes or bypass normal bureaucratic processes. Miller was also the principal architect and advocate of the Trump administration’s forced family separations on the U.S. border with Mexico.
“I think this is an important effort, but the question is whether Stephen Miller being the face of the fight against federal overreach will end up being a wise strategy,” said a former Trump White House official, adding that Miller may encounter difficulties to raise funds “since many donors do not want the potential exposure to support something affiliated with it. ”
One of the people directly involved with the group rejected the idea that Miller would take on a public service role. Despite the occasional TV appearances, this person said that Miller planned to operate mainly behind the scenes – building on his connections within the conservative movement and on existing relationships with Republican Attorney Generals to turn the AFL into an important player during the it was Biden and beyond.
In less than 100 days of his first term, Biden is already facing a series of lawsuits led by Republican state attorney generals. In January, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the new government to prevent Biden from placing a 100-day moratorium on the removal of some undocumented immigrants, claiming that the executive order violated the constitution and an existing agreement between Texas and the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier this month, Paxton filed another lawsuit with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen over Biden’s executive order suspending construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. And on Wednesday, a coalition of 14 states sued the Biden government for its attempt to stop new oil and gas leases on public land.
The spate of activities has raised questions among some Trump allies about the need for a group like America First Legal, when top law enforcement officials in red states already appear to be organizing legal challenges to Biden.
“If you look back at the Obama administration, the Republican AGs were extremely well organized and I have no reason to believe that they are not on the same track now, based on the people who currently hold these positions and the first litigation they have already done. . filed, ”said a prominent leader in conservative legal circles.
But others said Miller was filling a much-needed gap after Biden’s aggressive use of executive orders to dismantle Trump-era policies or circumvent potential legislative obstacles.
“I really think that several of the policies that the Biden government has adopted are probably ripe for some legal challenges, in the sense that they have been abruptly withdrawn or changed quite abruptly,” said former DHS interim secretary Chad Wolf.
“What we saw during the Trump administration were numerous lawsuits because we did not go through the formal process. So, if that has been the case for the past four years, I think you can look at it as guidance on what to expect now, ”added Wolf.
Miller is not the only former Trump employee using his executive power experience to add a new entity to the conservative political landscape. Two other key White House policy advisers, former domestic policy adviser Brooke Rollins and director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, are setting up their own company that will focus on promoting Trump’s political legacy, while the former Management and Budget Director Russ Vought created the Center for American Restoration, a new think tank focused on cultural issues that Trump put at the forefront of the GOP during his tenure.