Miles Taylor
Like many who worked in the first Trump Administration and had the courage to speak up, Miles Taylor paid a price. Threats to his safety meant he spent the 2020 election night in a safe house with an armed guard and a gun under his pillow. His willingness to take a stand ultimately cost him his marriage, home, savings, security, and job.
On September 5, 2018, a guest column authored by Taylor appeared in The New York Times under the byline “Anonymous. - I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” It was a powerful indictment of the chaotic and corrupt leadership of President Donald Trump.
At the time, Taylor was deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, serving as a senior advisor on policy coordination and departmental strategy. He regularly coordinated with Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, attended cabinet meetings, and helped translate presidential priorities into DHS policy. The job included crisis management, covering both natural disasters and terroristic threats.
His unsigned opinion piece revealed that an active resistance existed inside the White House. Officials were working to restrain Trump. Taylor was part of this group, acting to manage a president who was poorly informed, erratic, and reckless. He argued that Trump’s leadership “posed a risk to the very function of the government and democratic norms.” This triggered Trump’s wrath. A nationwide search for the author ensued. One of the most startling revelations from the opinion piece was that cabinet members had seriously discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to forcibly remove Donald Trump, but had rejected it to avoid a constitutional crisis.
In 2020, Taylor revealed himself as the anonymous author of the explosive opinion piece and published a book entitled A Warning. He then campaigned actively for Joe Biden.
Taylor has recovered nicely from all that travail. He is happily remarried and shares a child with his new partner, and in 2024 released a new book, Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump, that foreshadowed all the chaos of a second term.
A bright man with abundant initiative, he continues his critique of the Trump Administration while advising U.S. tech startups in robotics, AI, defense, and space systems.
“This is not happening to us; this is happening because of us. Our city streets are now the frontlines in the war for the soul of our political system, and it won't end without a great civic awakening.”
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16, 2025Top of Form