Stephen Miller ally heads to the National Security Council

Andrew Veprek, an ally of Stephen Miller who oversaw record low refugee admissions and once pushed to soften language about fighting racism, is leaving the State Department for a post at the National Security Council, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Posted 4:09 p.m. Apr 27, 2020 — Updated 4:09 p.m. Apr 27, 2020

Priscilla Alvarez, Kylie Atwood

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Vivian Salama, CNN

CNN — Andrew Veprek, an ally of Stephen Miller who oversaw record low refugee admissions and once pushed to soften language about fighting racism, is leaving the State Department for a post at the National Security Council, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Veprek, who has held the deputy assistant secretary for refugees and migration role at State, is expected to assume the border and transportation security senior director post at the NSC in late May, according to one of the sources.

Veprek oversaw refugee resettlement at the State Department as it declined to historic lows. In fiscal year 2019, 30,000 refugees were admitted to the United States. Refugee admissions continue to remain low: Nearly 7,400 have come to the US as of March 31. A moratorium on admissions remains in effect due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An administration official described Veprek as a "Stephen Miller acolyte."

Veprek's appointment to the deputy assistant position in 2018 raised eyebrows because of his relatively low rank. Senate Democrats wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time to say the appointment was "the equivalent of placing a lieutenant colonel into a one-star general position."

Veprek also previously received pushback for disputing the idea that leaders have a "duty" to condemn hate speech and incitement, and repeatedly rejected use of the words nationalism, populism, and xenophobia.

Veprek started out as a consular officer in 2002, according to Congress.gov, and worked for the House Foreign Affairs Committee before becoming an immigration adviser at the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he was close to Miller.

While Miller, in his role as senior adviser to President Donald Trump, has long been one of the most influential voices on Trump's immigration policies, having a close ally inside the NSC could give him access to meetings he previously couldn't.

In the earliest days of the administration, Miller would sometimes attend immigration policy meetings at the NSC that he often wasn't entitled to attend, due to security clearances and other general protocol restrictions, according to several administration officials. Those meetings often grew combative, with Miller quizzing national security staff on their loyalties if they questioned the President's immigration policies, these people said.

The NSC and Vepreck did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

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