NEW: ‘RINO’ Senator Attacks Key Trump Official In Public Betrayal

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is taking a public swing at one of President Donald Trump’s most influential advisers, calling on the president to remove longtime aide Stephen Miller and branding him an “embarrassment” and a “big problem” for the administration.

Tillis made the comments Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” a striking escalation from a Republican senator who has often positioned himself as a skeptic of Trump’s tougher immigration posture. Tillis, who is not running for reelection, tied his latest attack to last week’s high-profile firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and suggested Miller should be next.

“It gives me pause that you have people like Stephen Miller calling the shots,” Tillis told host Jake Tapper. “It was Stephen Miller that was talking about a terrorist brandishing a gun. It was Stephen Miller who said it was the position of the United States that we should go after Greenland. It was Stephen Miller who has been repeatedly responsible for embarrassment for the President of the United States by acting too quickly. Speaking first and thinking later.”

Pressed by Tapper on whether he believed Miller should be fired, Tillis didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, of course I do.”

Tillis argued that Miller’s influence goes beyond messaging and into day-to-day operations, claiming Cabinet officials are being boxed in by the White House deputy chief of staff.

“He’s not worried about substance. He’s more worried about form,” Tillis continued. “But I also think that he has an outsized influence over the operations of the Cabinet. And I believe we’ve got qualified Cabinet members there that sometimes are doing less than what they want to because of his direction and his outsized influence.”

“He’s a big problem in this administration, he has been from the beginning,” he added.

The remarks put Tillis at odds with much of the Republican base, where Miller is viewed as the architect of the administration’s most aggressive border and deportation policies and one of Trump’s most loyal enforcers on the issue that helped drive Trump’s political comeback.

Tillis has criticized Miller before, and he was also an early Republican voice calling for Noem to step aside. But his latest comments land as the administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, a core Trump priority that remains popular with GOP voters who see border security as a national emergency.

Inside Republican circles, Tillis’ broadside is being read less as a policy dispute and more as a political parting shot from a senator on his way out the door — and a familiar pattern from Washington: when a Republican stops facing voters, the knives come out.

RELATED: Trump Fires Cabinet Secretary After Brutal Week On Capitol Hill

A White House official pointed to recent public defenses of Miller from prominent Senate Republicans. Last month, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., led more than a dozen GOP colleagues in backing Miller’s role in the administration.

“People can disagree with Stephen on rhetoric, and they can disagree with him on policy, but the question is, ‘Is Stephen Miller in jeopardy in Trump World?’ Absolutely not,” Graham said.

Other Republicans have framed Miller’s work as central to the administration delivering on promises that matter to everyday voters, from border enforcement to public safety.

“Because of him and other members of the president’s team, critical priorities like stopping deadly fentanyl, unleashing America’s energy, and bringing much-needed economic relief for working families are now a reality for Pennsylvania,” Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said.

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>