White House staff to need prior approval to meet with lobbyists, under Stephen Miller memo

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. A new memo from White House chief of staff Stephen Miller says White House staffers need prior approval from the Office of White House Counsel if they want to meet with a lobbyist, a significant shift after the midterm shellacking of the GOP. “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 states. The memo says the prior approval covers meetings on the White House complex with registered lobbyists related to government policy. A White House official said the memo was sent out last night and is a “much stricter process than before.” It also says the Office of Public Liaison will continue to serve as the primary point of contact for engagement with external stakeholders. Politico first reported the memo. Republicans lost the House and Senate majorities in last week’s elections, with Democrats winning Senate seats in such previously red states as Texas, South Carolina, Kansas and Mississippi. While the elections were focused on the economy, affordability and the Iran war, corruption was an underlying theme of the campaigns. Trump named Miller as his chief of staff on the Friday after the elections. Miller replaced Susie Wiles, who had come under criticism from some administration officials over her ties to lobbying groups. Former senior health adviser Calley Means criticized Wiles as a career lobbyist concerned only with catering to corporate interests. He claimed Wiles and her former deputy chief of staff James Blair stunted the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda by siding with corporate donors ahead of the midterm elections. “Just as a statement of economic facts; Susie Wiles, her career has been taking money from the industries and foreign governments who would pay her the most money. That’s what she did. Nobody disputes that,” Means said while on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast last week. Means resigned last month from the Department of Health and Human Services over frustrations with the lack of MAHA advancements. The White House has pushed back on the allegations, saying the administration “has never allowed and will never allow outside groups to influence policy decisions.” “President Trump is busy executing on his America First agenda that includes the largest working-class tax cuts in history, over a million private sector jobs added to the economy, a sealed shut border, and lowest violent crime to the lowest level in nearly a century,” White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said in a statement. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.