The American public is in a desperate need of a strong civics education.
According to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, only 22% of 8th grade students were deemed “proficient” in civics and just 13% in history.
This spells trouble for not only America today, but the future stability and sustainability of the nation going forward.
It was Abraham Lincoln who warned, “The philosophy of the schoolhouse in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.”
But every now and again individuals emerge on the national stage who possess an ability to teach while they talk.
Enter Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy and United States homeland security advisor.
According to The New York Times, Stephen Miller is “one of the most powerful unelected people in America.”
Of late, media outlets have been using the “unelected” moniker a lot, presumably a reaction to individuals and perspectives they don’t appreciate. Questioned about Elon Musk’s “unelected” role in the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Miller assumed the role of teacher.
“Many people in this room who have used this talking point that Elon is not elected fail to understand how government works,” he said from the White House briefing room.
He continued,
“A president is elected by the whole American people. He’s the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation, right? Judges are appointed. Members of Congress are elected at the district or state level. The Constitution, Article II has a clause known as the Vesting Clause. And it says the executive power shall be vested in a president, singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to then impose that democratic will onto the government.”
Miller is correct that every administration and nearly the whole of government is populated by unelected citizens.
He went on to warn, “The threat to democracy, indeed the existential threat to democracy, is the unelected bureaucracy of lifetime-tenured civil servants who believe they answer to no one, who believe they can do whatever they want without consequence, who believe they can set their own agenda no matter what Americans vote for.”
Stephen Miller, who is 39 years of age, was born and raised in California. He’s said the former NRA CEO’s Wayne LaPierre’s book, Guns, Crime, and Freedom, helped him shape his conservative world view. He started in talk radio as a teenager and began appearing on Larry Elder’s show. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in political science.
Known for his aggressive commentary, edgy and maybe even impatient temperament, Miller first worked for Representative Michelle Bachmann and then Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. He also worked in the first Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Stephen Miller defended President Trump’s decision to deport Venezuelan gang members of Tren de Aragua, a foreign terrorist organization, under the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798. Here’s what he told CNN’s Kasie Hunt:
The president of the United States and his administration reserve all rights under the Constitution to conduct national security operations in defense of the United States. The Alien Enemies Act, which was passed into law by the founding generation of this country, men like John Adams, was written explicitly to give the president the authority to repel an alien invasion of the United States.
When the president is exercising his Article 2 powers to defend the country against an invasion or to repel a foreign terrorist that is unlawfully in the country, he’s exercising his core Article 2 powers as commander in chief.
Both President Trump and Stephen Miller’s interpretations of some of our founding principles are being challenged on various legal fronts – and right up to the United States Supreme Court. Time will tell how those play out, but for now American citizens who are following the news are receiving an almost daily civics lesson – and that is always a good thing.
Image from Getty.
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