Former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor comes forward as 'Anonymous' Trump administration official


Over two years after an anonymous Trump administration official described an internal "resistance" to President Trump, their identity has been revealed.
Miles Taylor, former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff under Trump, in a statement provided to The New York Times and CNN on Wednesday revealed himself as the anonymous official who wrote a 2018 op-ed about being part of a "quiet resistance within the administration." Taylor also later anonymously published a book critical of Trump called A Warning.
"Too often in times of crisis, I saw Donald Trump prove he is a man without character, and his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives," Taylor writes in his statement. "I witnessed Trump's inability to do his job over the course of two-and-a-half years. Everyone saw it, though most were hesitant to speak up for fear of reprisals."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Taylor goes on to defend his decision to remain anonymous until this point by saying that "issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling." He also urges other Trump administration officials to speak out, writing, "it's time to come forward and shine a light on the discord that's infected our public discourse."
Though it was not known that Taylor was the anonymous official behind the Times op-ed and book, he has previously criticized Trump and endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Taylor denied he was the anonymous official in an August interview with CNN, telling Anderson Cooper, "I wear a mask for two things, Anderson. Halloween and pandemics. So no."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
6 charming homes in Rhode Island
Feature Featuring an award-winning home on Block Island and a casket-making-company-turned-condo in Providence
-
Team Trump brings the MAGA playbook to Albania's elections
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The architects of the president's 2024 victory are looking east to extend their populist reach
-
Narco subs are helping fuel a global cocaine surge
The Explainer Drug smugglers are increasingly relying on underwater travel to hide from law enforcement
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine