CREW urges OSC to recommend Stephen Miller’s firing

White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s repeated and egregious violations of the Hatch Act warrant his removal from federal service, according to a complaint sent to the Office of Special Counsel today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. OSC should confirm that Miller’s use of his official position to engage in partisan political activity throughout the 2026 midterm election broke the law and recommend that President Trump fire Miller as a result. If Trump refuses to follow this recommendation, OSC must refer and prosecute the case for disciplining Miller before the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The Hatch Act prohibits any executive branch employee from “us[ing their] official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.” Throughout the second Trump administration, Miller has frequently appeared in interviews on behalf of the White House and posted official communications on his social media, using both forums to make partisan, bigoted attacks or endorsements of individual candidates and political parties as a whole. He has targeted at least 13 Republican, Democrat or independent candidates by name in interviews and on social media including attacking one Democratic Senate candidate while acting in his official capacity at least 25 times. In one especially egregious instance, Miller, identified on screen with his then-title as “Deputy WH Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor,” appealed to voters, urging them not to “sit on the sidelines” but to “get up,” “get out,” and “participate,” because “at the end of the day, if you’re not going to support President Trump and support the Republican ticket, you’re going to go back to the policies of record inflation, record illegal immigration, and record murder.”

“For too long, Stephen Miller has gotten away with weaponizing his official position as a partisan cudgel to impact political candidates and our elections,” said CREW President Donald K. Sherman. “In years of tracking Hatch Act violations, his conduct is among the most egregious CREW has ever seen. No one with such contempt for the law should be allowed to serve in the White House—let alone as Chief of Staff. OSC must intervene.”

Miller’s conduct is emblematic of the Trump administration’s increasing disregard for the Hatch Act and politicization of government services. After Trump’s first term, OSC released a report finding that at least 13 senior Trump administration officials, including Miller, violated the Hatch Act prior to the 2020 presidential election. Miller evaded disciplinary action only because he had resigned his position at the end of Trump’s first term. Hatch Act violations in the second Trump administration have not only skyrocketed, but also turned more overt and dangerous. In September, CREW filed a complaint on the administration’s cancellation of federal grants and denial of government services to states or members of the public based solely on their political identity or voting record.

Congress passed the Hatch Act in 1939 to address concerns of partisan influence and coercion in government service dating back to the early years of America’s existence. Today, a federal employee who violates the Hatch Act is subject to disciplinary action, a civil penalty of up to $1,000 or some combination of the two. Disciplinary action can take the form of a reprimand, suspension, removal or ban from federal employment lasting up to five years. The only relevant comparison to the scope of Miller’s repeated abuse of the Hatch Act is former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway. In 2019, OSC, under the leadership of a Trump appointee, took the unprecedented step of recommending that Conway be removed from federal service following multiple CREW complaints. 

“There is no excuse whatsoever for Miller’s egregious illegal conduct,” said Sherman. “Using the privilege and resources of his government position to put his thumb on the scales of the democratic process is a betrayal of the public he is supposed to serve and threatens key government services that benefit all Americans. OSC cannot sit idly by. It must do everything in its power to curb Miller’s unlawful conduct.”