Stephen Miller is making Washington’s influence industry clear a new hurdle before getting face time with White House staff.
The new chief of staff’s office has issued a memo requiring advance approval from the White House counsel’s office for policy meetings with registered lobbyists on the White House complex, according to POLITICO, which first obtained the directive.
For K Street, the restriction adds a formal checkpoint as lobbyists adjust to a Trump loyalist whom even fellow Republicans describe as unusually resistant to their pitches.
“No President in history has fought more relentlessly, selflessly or courageously for the American People than President Trump. Following his example, White House staff are expected to dedicate their time unwaveringly to the working people of the nation,” the memo said.
The Office of Public Liaison will remain the main contact for outside stakeholders, according to the directive.
The change comes amid a public fight over lobbying firms’ access to Miller’s predecessor, Susie Wiles, who worked at Ballard Partners and Mercury Public Affairs before joining Trump’s operation.
Calley Means, a former senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accused Ballard Partners of wielding undue influence inside the White House. He also singled out Continental Strategy, where Wiles’ daughter is a partner.
Both firms pushed back, and Wiles’ spokesperson forcefully rejected the allegations.
“Our firm’s interactions with Susie Wiles as chief of staff have been limited and have been the exception, not the rule,” Ballard Partners founder Brian Ballard said in a public statement on X.
POLL: Will America Regret Giving The Democrats Power?
Continental Strategy called Means’ claims “inaccurate and baseless.”
“Calley Means’ accusations are outrageous, defamatory, and provably false,” Wiles’ spokesperson said. “Susie has dedicated her career to fighting for President Trump and the American people.”
Ballard’s firm is on pace to bring in more than $100 million this year, according to POLITICO, compared with $24 million in 2020.
Miller brings a different background and a different approach to the job. A dozen Republican lobbyists who spoke with POLITICO described a chief of staff driven by policy and loyalty to President Donald Trump, with little appetite for trading on personal connections.
“The thing with Stephen is, he’s not someone that a lobbyist goes in and has to crack or try to win over,” said Hunter Morgen, a Ballard Partners lobbyist who worked with Miller during Trump’s first administration. “He doesn’t operate based on relationships. He operates based on policy outcomes that will advance the president’s agenda.”
Miller has been a central figure in Trump’s immigration crackdown and a fierce advocate for the president’s America First priorities. His ties to Trump date to the 2016 campaign.
Between Trump’s administrations, Miller founded America First Legal and a political consulting firm. POLITICO reported that financial disclosures listed those organizations as his sources of nongovernment salary income.
His arrival has some lobbyists looking for other ways to make their case.
One trade association CEO told POLITICO that establishing a direct line to Trump has become more important. Other lobbyists said they would keep working with officials on the Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council rather than approach Miller.
Corporate executives have enjoyed opportunities to speak directly with Trump, including at White House events and by phone, according to the report.
“He’s impossible to lobby, no one can do it, not even the people that you would think are closest,” one lobbyist told POLITICO. “I think he’s more reasonable than he’s being portrayed, but he’s not swayed by lobbying.”
Wiles’ allies argue that maintaining a broad network reflected the president’s own approach.
A spokesperson for the former chief of staff, speaking before the memo became public Thursday, described Trump as “a very relational person” and said Wiles “understood the importance of having strong relationships.”
“It’s not just relationships with K Street, it’s relationships with donors, members of Congress, political committees, reporters,” the spokesperson said. “That’s driven by the president.”
Miller has attended White House gatherings with donors, and one Republican lobbyist cautioned against assuming he would abandon those contacts altogether.
“Even in his deputy chief of staff role, he cared enough to be at Rose Garden dinners and Christmas parties and events that the donor community was invited to, like they do in all administrations,” the lobbyist told POLITICO, which granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “So it’s not like he’s an alien to that scene … it’s just going to be done differently.”
Miller’s strongest connections run through Trump’s ideological allies, including advocates of tougher immigration enforcement and the Make America Healthy Again movement. Those groups see an opportunity to advance their priorities with him running the White House staff.
The administration says the president’s agenda will determine how that access is used.
“President Trump’s loyalty is to the American people, not lobbyists. His team is dedicated to advancing the President’s agenda, not the agenda of D.C. lobbyists,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said. “All of the White House components continue to work in lockstep to implement President Trump’s America First agenda.”
