'Getting boxed out?' DHS move signals Stephen Miller may be losing power

President Donald Trump's nomination of an obscure Oklahoma state trooper to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement has set off a revolt inside the agency and raised fresh questions about whether Stephen Miller's influence in the White House is fading.Sources told The Daily Beast's PunchUp that Richard "Lance" Schroyer, a former highway patrolman and ex-Marine, was the choice of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rather than border czar Tom Homan or Miller, the deputy chief of staff who has driven the administration's immigration agenda, and one source said the snub points to his diminishing sway over the president."He may be getting boxed out," the source said. The remark comes as Miller's signature self-deportation initiative, Project Homecoming, is increasingly viewed internally as a costly failure.A senior ICE figure said it "seems Homan is losing some power," citing his resistance to Trump's proposal to rename ICE as "NICE." Trump himself acknowledged the friction in a Truth Social post, noting Homan had told him agents weren't as enthusiastic about the idea as others.Inside ICE, reaction to Schroyer's nomination has been described as brutal, with senior leaders and rank-and-file agents reportedly furious over his lack of management experience. One insider noted he has never run a budget or led an organization, yet would now oversee a $78 billion agency with 32,000 employees. Multiple sources said agents are openly discussing retirement.Schroyer has reportedly been quietly advising Mullin for weeks, having previously worked on the senator's security detail in Oklahoma — a relationship close enough that Mullin would sometimes invite him to dinner.The pick marks a reversal of fortune for Mullin, who has clashed with Miller and Homan since becoming DHS secretary in March. He initially wanted a different ally for the ICE post but was overruled, and Miller and Homan later installed their own pick as acting director. Schroyer's emergence now suggests that balance may be shifting.One veteran agency official compared the dynamic to Trump's previous DHS leadership shake-up, warning that Schroyer could become a loyal but inexperienced "inside man," echoing comparisons to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s often-ridiculed former ICE deputy director, Madison Sheahan.A White House official pushed back on the narrative of discord, saying Trump retains "full faith and confidence" in both Homan and Miller, and that Miller was aware of and supportive of the Schroyer decision.DHS and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.