Katie Miller Is Trying To Sell MAGA on Solar Energy
Stephen Miller's wife is giving renewables a P.R. boost.
Since his return to the White House last year, President Donald Trump has used the power of his office to shutter renewable energy projects and accelerate fossil fuel development. But solar power could soon get a leg up in the administration, thanks to the help of two unlikely green energy advocates: Katie Miller and Kellyanne Conway.
On Friday, Politico reported on the efforts of Miller, who is the wife of White House deputy director of policy Stephen Miller, and Conway to promote solar to MAGA audiences. The advocacy came to light earlier this month when Miller tweeted, "Solar energy is the energy of the future….We must rapidly expand solar to compete with China." About a week later, Miller shared a graph from the Energy Information Administration, showing that solar is the fastest-growing source of new energy in the United States.
While it's certainly possible that Miller thinks of solar as the energy of the future, her public advocacy appears to be financially motivated. As a "confidential strategy memo" obtained by Politico reveals, "[Miller and Conway's] advocacy is aligned with a campaign by members of the nation's largest renewable energy lobby group to MAGA-fy solar power."
The memo, which comes from the American Clean Power Association (the nation's largest clean energy industry group), details an "American Energy First" campaign which involves engaging "Conway and conservative influencers like Miller 'to amplify the benefits of solar energy' and 'note the harm that could result from reckless trade policy,'" according to Politico.
"In the coming weeks," the campaign will use recent polling data from Conway's consulting firm showing the popularity of solar among Trump's base to drive a series of op-eds, podcast partnerships, and ads in right-of-center publications. Miller has denied being paid by the American Clean Power Association or American Energy First.
Miller is not the first conservative to tout the benefits of solar power, but she is one of the most influential, given her connections to Trump, the White House, and other Republican lawmakers. Still, it's unlikely to be an easy task to convince MAGA stalwarts to de-escalate their battle on solar (even if several of them privately like the energy source).
While offshore wind has been the primary recipient of Trump's antipathy toward renewables, the administration has also passed rules to hamstring solar's deployment. In July, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a rule requiring all solar and wind projects on federal lands to get his OK before moving forward. Some projects are finally moving forward through this process.
A month later, Burgum directed his agency to weigh alternatives to renewable projects on federal lands during permitting if they generated less energy per acre than fossil fuels or nuclear power. And as the administration has (wisely) gone after the wasteful green energy subsidies approved by the Biden administration, it has propped up aging coal plants—to the detriment of ratepayers—and nuclear power projects that don't need federal support.
Despite all of this, the market has mostly shrugged off the administration's actions and rhetoric. In 2025, the U.S. added the most solar and energy storage on record, a feat that is expected to be topped again this year. Some of the additions are undoubtedly due to developers scrambling to take advantage of expiring federal subsidies, but the market has long been embracing these technologies and will likely continue to do so.
Renewables don't need Trump's support to thrive, but having a government that doesn't play favorites with energy sources would provide clarity to developers and investors and benefit consumers in the process. Perhaps Katie Miller will help to deliver this much-needed change. But given MAGA's penchant for its own brand of socialism, the more likely scenario is that the government will continue to pick energy winners and losers.
