Trump's New Chief of Staff Is Putting Lobbyists on a Short Leash

K Street lobbyists in Washington are waking up to a different set of rules this Friday. President Trump's new, rather combative Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, has belled that cat. Now lobbyists can't meet with any White House staff without that staff member first getting the express permission of the Office of the While House Counsel. That's probably causing some consternation amongst lobbyists, and just in time for the weekend!

According to a memo from the chief of staff office first obtained by POLITICO, White House staff must receive prior approval from the Office of White House Counsel if they want to meet with a lobbyist.

“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 from Miller’s office said.

The prior approval covers meetings on the White House complex with registered lobbyists related to government policy. The Office of Public Liaison will continue to serve as the primary point of contact for engagement with external stakeholders, the memo said.

The memo likely won’t shock lobbyists on K Street where Miller has few friends.

From what we have seen of the new Chief of Staff's career, he may not only not have many friends on K Street, but he probably doesn't want many friends on K Street. That's a good thing. The Chief of Staff should be the guy managing messaging, as well as the access to the administration as a whole — especially by people who have something to sell. 

One lobbyist spoke to Politico, and makes a good point about how Mr. Miller operates.

“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 lobbyist at Ballard Partners who worked with Miller at the White House during the first Trump administration. “He doesn’t operate based on relationships. He operates based on policy outcomes that will advance the president’s agenda.”

It would be preferable to have him be someone that is just simply impossible for a lobbyist to crack or try to win over. That's not his job. His job is, as noted, moving the president's agenda forward, and that's a task that, in January, will get an order of magnitude more complicated, and more difficult. But Stephen Miller would seem to be up to it.

This statement comes on the heels of some pretty serious shakeups in President Trump's inner circle, including the sudden departure of the former Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles. Now, staff shakeups at the White House aren't exactly unusual, especially when the seated president's party takes a midterm drubbing like the 2026 elections. Miller is seen as more of a MAGA hardliner than Susie Wiles. He has a reputation for being the policy equivalent of a bare-knuckle brawler, and that may well be just what the administration needs right now, because there are challenging times ahead, and that's for sure and for certain.

So, as the saying goes, the times, they are a 'changing. Life on K Street just got a little more complicated. And, frankly, it's a safe bet most Americans will see that as a good thing.

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