Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) singled out White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and his influence on the White House's immigration policy. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Graham tees off on Stephen Miller over immigration

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday renewed his criticism of White House aides' handling of immigration, portraying them as having undercut President Donald Trump's ability to cut a deal as the government shutdown entered its second day.

Graham singled out White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, a pugnacious conservative who has a keen focus on restrictive immigration policy.


"As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration, we are going nowhere. He's been an outlier for years," Graham told reporters as he entered a meeting of more than a dozen senators from both parties who have worked since the shutdown began to carve out space for a compromise.

The South Carolina Republican appeared earlier this month to have forged a détente with Miller, who fought bipartisan attempts at an immigration deal in 2013 as an aide to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). But Graham, who has recently also tangled with fellow GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, gave specific examples on Sunday of Trump aides leaving the president ill-served in immigration talks.

"I’ve talked with the president — his heart is right on this issue," Graham said. "He’s got a good understanding of what will sell, and every time we have a proposal it is only yanked back by staff members."

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Graham pointed to a handout that was distributed to lawmakers in both parties last week. It detailed a White House request for $18 billion in border security spending as part of an immigration deal. But Trump quickly disavowed the proposed compromise.

Trump responded to his own staff's proposal by saying "I could do it for less" than $18 billion, Graham recalled. "So what does the White House staff do a couple of days later? They pitch a proposal for $33 billion. That’s just not credible."

The bipartisan Senate group met Sunday afternoon with the goal of crafting a proposal to set up an immigration vote in that chamber, as well as an agreement to reopen the government until Feb. 8.

After leaving the meeting, Graham praised White House chief of staff John Kelly for having "brought order to chaos." While Miller has "evolved on a pathway to citizenship," Graham added, "his view of immigration has never been in the mainstream in the Senate."

He also praised another occasional sparring partner within his own party, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for going on CNN on Sunday to propose that the "Senate work its will" on immigration despite lingering uncertainty as to what agreement Trump would back.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Graham's remarks.