White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took Senator Lindsey Graham to task for attacking senior presidential policy advisor Stephen Miller Sunday.
“Its ridiculous a US Senator is calling out an advisor to the President,” Sanders said, adding “I think that’s a sad and desperate attempt by a few people trying to tarnish a staffer.”
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 22, 2018
Graham attacked Miller in a Sunday gaggle with reporters, saying, “As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration we are going no where. He’s been an outlier for years.” The senator’s comments follow continuing negotiations between Republican and Democratic lawmakers over a path forward to re-open the federal government.
The acrimony between the Senator and the White House comes on the third day of a government shutdown after Senate Democrats blocked passage of a spending bill Friday over an immigration fight. Democrats want to codify protections for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without giving in to too many of President Donald Trump’s demands.
The White House also issued a statement Sunday evening defending Miller, saying, “As long as Senator Graham chooses to support legislation that sides with people in this country illegally and unlawfully instead of our own American citizens, we are going nowhere. He’s been an outlier for years.” Graham has been a long time proponent of comprehensive immigration reform in the Republican party.