Stephen Miller: How America First Legal Influenced Supreme Court This Year
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks to the media outside the White House on May ... More 30. Getty Images
Miller—a top Trump official overseeing the government's immigration agenda—founded America First Legal, a right-wing legal group that has likened itself to a conservative version of the American Civil Liberties Union, bringing dozens of lawsuits since 2021 that advance right-wing interests.
The group represented parties in one major case at the Supreme Court this term, Affordable Care Act dispute Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, and filed amicus briefs urging the court to take a particular position in five other argued cases.
America First Legal and the White House confirmed to Forbes that Miller has not worked with the organization since joining the Trump administration in January.
The Supreme Court cases reflect Miller's time at America First Legal, however: the organization had already filed at least one brief in a majority of its cases before the Supreme Court prior to Inauguration Day, and filings in two other cases came shortly afterwards in February.
The group's president, Gene Hamilton, also previously served in the Trump administration as Deputy White House Counsel to President Donald Trump, though he left the White House to return to America First Legal in June.
The Supreme Court largely sided with America First Legal in cases where it filed amicus briefs, but dealt a blow to the organization in the one case where it was a party, ruling against client Braidwood Management's effort to invalidate the task force deciding which preventive services are covered by insurance.
Despite its loss in the Braidwood case, America First Legal was on the winning side of four cases it filed briefs in this term. The Supreme Court agreed with the group's arguments that the court should uphold state bans on gender-affirming care for minors, allow parents to opt their children out of being exposed to LGBTQ books in schools, rule in favor of a woman who argued she was discriminated against for being straight, and revive a lawsuit against the Palestine Liberation Organization. The fifth case the group weighed in on did not go in its favor, as the court rejected arguments that it should strike down the Federal Communications Commission's universal service obligation to provide telecom services to underserved communities. Who Is Stephen Miller?
Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisors, initially joining his team during the 2016 presidential campaign and remaining at the White House throughout Trump's first term. After founding America First Legal during Joe Biden's presidency, Miller rejoined Trump as he returned to the White House, becoming the president's deputy chief of staff of policy. He's garnered the most attention and controversy for being a key architect of Trump's harsh immigration policy and mass deportations, with the advisor reportedly recently pushing immigration officials to meet a quota of at least 3,000 arrests per day. But Miller's influence over the White House and Trump's agenda is more wide-reaching, Bloomberg reports, with the advisor also overseeing issues like the Trump administration's attacks on top universities. 'He's probably as influential as any single person in the White House,' former House speaker Newt Gingrich told Bloomberg about Miller.
America First Legal has praised the Supreme Court's rulings in cases that went its way this term, framing the court as siding with the organization after it filed briefs in each case. It touted one instance in which Justice Clarence Thomas noted the group's brief in his opinion concurring with the court's majority, claiming it reflected 'the unmistakable impact of America First Legal's ability to provide solid footing for the courts to uphold the rule of law for all Americans,' America First Legal Vice President Daniel Epstein said in a statement about the court's ruling in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. In that case, a woman claimed she was discriminated against for being straight. Miller has not commented on the court's rulings through America First Legal since joining the White House, though the Trump advisor has spoken out on social media and in media appearances in favor of several major decisions this term, such as the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender healthcare and the court's decision that restricted lower judges' ability to block Trump administration policies nationwide. 'With today's action, the Supreme Court has said President Trump can fully deliver on the mandate the American people gave him in November,' Miller told Fox News about the court's ruling on nationwide injunctions, which America First Legal did not participate in. Who's Bankrolling America First Legal?
Tax filings show America First Legal has received sizable donations from a number of known groups that contribute to conservative causes since its founding in 2021, including the Bradley Impact Fund and Conservative Partnership Institute, where Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows holds a leadership role. The organization has also received more than $3 million from DonorsTrust, a donor-advised fund linked to conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo, whose groups have played a key role in right-wing lawsuits and judicial appointees. America First Legal received $1.5 million in 2023 from a foundation linked to Mike Rydin, a former construction software entrepreneur who's become a major conservative donor, helping Meadows' Conservative Partnership Institute expand its operations and buy real estate around Capitol Hill. Rydin is still helping to bankroll America First Legal, as the group is now advertising the donor will match up to $2 million in donations through the end of July. Tax filings have not yet been released showing how much America First made in 2024 or so far in 2025, but its most recent filings also indicate the organization had a need to bolster its donations: It ended 2023 with a deficit of $661,379, after taking in $9.4 million in donations but spending $10.3 million. Miller appears to have still benefited handsomely from his involvement with America First Legal, however, reporting $508,659 in income from the group on his White House financial disclosure. Surprising Fact
America First Legal lost to the Trump administration at the Supreme Court in the Kennedy v. Braidwood Management case. The administration took over the lawsuit and kept the Biden administration's position that the Preventive Services Task Force should stay in place. Further Reading Forbes Supreme Court Keeps Healthcare Coverage For Preventive Services—At Least For Now By Alison Durkee Forbes How Project 2025 Groups Influenced The Supreme Court This Year By Alison Durkee Forbes Supreme Court Upholds Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors By Alison Durkee Forbes Supreme Court Lets Parents Opt Kids Out Of LGBTQ Books In Schools By Alison Durkee
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