White House Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller said Sunday that the administration would pursue alternative ways to revive President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban, which primarily affects travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.
“We have equal branches of government in this country. The judiciary is not supreme,” Miller told ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos.
“A district judge in Seattle cannot force the president of the United States to change their laws and our constitution because of their own personal views,” Miller said. "The bottom line is the president’s power in this area of represent the apex of executive authority.”
In a separate interview with Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace, Miller said Trump’s administration is "considering and pursuing all options," including "seeking an emergency stay at the Supreme Court. continuing the appeal with the panel, having an emergency hearing en banc, or going to the trial court at the district level and trial on the merit. They also include, as you've mentioned, the possibility of new executive actions designed to prevent terrorist infiltration of our country."
Trump’s executive action calling for a temporary halt to the US refugee program and a travel ban on certain Muslim-majority countries hit another roadblock on Friday when a federal appeals court upheld an earlier decision to block the ban.
Miller reiterated the administration's position on a flurry of interviews on Sunday morning news shows, much to the delight of the president, who tweeted, “Congratulations Stephen Miller- on representing me this morning on the various Sunday morning shows. Great job!”
Congratulations Stephen Miller- on representing me this morning on the various Sunday morning shows. Great job!
“But I want to say something very clearly, and this is going to be very disappointing to the people protesting the president and the people in Congress like Sen. Schumer who've attacked the president for his lawful and necessary actions,” Miller said during an interview with Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. “The president's powers here are beyond question."
Trump aide Stephen Miller repeats Trump's blatantly false claim about mass illegal voting. There is zero evidence.
In another particularly notable exchange, Miller told This Week host Stephanopoulos that the "issue of busing voters in to New Hampshire is widely known by anyone who’s worked in New Hampshire politics," after being asked about Trump's recent comments with senators that he would have won the state if it wasn't for voter fraud.
"It’s very real, it’s very serious," Miller said, to which Stephanopoulos repeatedly asked for evidence.
"You just claimed again that there was illegal voting in New Hampshire, people bused in from the state of Massachusetts. Do you have evidence of that?" Stephanopoulos asked.
"George, go to New Hampshire. Talk to anybody who’s worked in politics there for a long time. Everybody’s aware of the problem in New Hampshire with respect to..." Miller responded, only to be asked by Stephanopoulos again for evidence.
Miller told the longtime ABC host that "dead people" and "noncitizens" were registered in "massive numbers."
"That is a scandal!" Miller said. "We should stop the presses and as a country we should be aghast about the fact that you have people who have no right to vote in this country registered to vote, canceling out the franchise of lawful citizens of this country. That’s the story we should be talking about!"
"You have provided zero evidence of the president’s claim that he would’ve won the general — the popular vote if 3 to 5 million illegal immigrants hadn’t voted," Stephanopoulos replied. "Zero evidence for either one of those claims."