Does Trump have plenary authority? Stephen Miller freezes before camera in ‘awkward’ live TV moment

Updated on: Oct 08, 2025 04:47 am IST

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller caused outrage after claiming in a CNN interview that Trump has “plenary authority” and then freezing.

White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller has sparked a controversy for allegedly claiming that President Donald Trump has ‘plenary authority.’ Speaking to CNN on the issue of sending National Guard to Oregon, the top Trump aide seemed to suggest that Trump has plenary authority – the absolute power to make a decision.

Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff for policy, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC.(Bloomberg)

The controversial claim turned awkward when Miller froze before the camera while speaking about plenary authority, possibly after being reminded by an aide about the issue with his statement. Some said it was a technical glitch, as Miller was seen suddenly stopping in front of the camera. Others noted that Miller was blinking, suggesting he deliberately stopped.

“Well, the administration filed an appeal this morning with the Ninth Circuit,” Miller says. “I would note the administration won an identical case in the Ninth Circuit just a few months ago with respect to the federalizing of the California National Guard under Title 10 of the US Code.” he then says, “the president has plenary authority…” before suddenly stopping.

Here’s the video:

Plenary authority means complete, absolute, or full power to act on a particular matter, without needing approval or limitation from another body. In this case, it refers to when a president or governor claims full decision-making power within their constitutional limits.

However, contrary to Miller’s claim, the President of the United States does not have plenary authority. The power of the President comes with a lot of checks and balances, sometimes in the form of Congress, sometimes in the form of legal and procedural requirement.

This story is being updated.

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