Stephen Miller, a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, and his wife, conservative podcaster Katie Miller, announced Wednesday the arrival of their fourth child, a son named Hawthorne Hayes Miller.
The baby’s first name immediately drew some curiosity in Washington. Hawthorne was also the name of a well-known Republican-friendly sports bar on U Street in Washington, D.C., a spot that was especially popular around the time the Millers were first dating.
But according to Katie Miller, the inspiration had nothing to do with the bar. She told the Daily Mail that their son was named “for the author.”
The reference is to American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, best known for The Scarlet Letter, the classic novel centered on the fallout from a child born out of wedlock and the public shaming of an accused adulterer.
Katie Miller added that her husband came up with the name while out on a walk with the couple’s five-year-old daughter, Mackenzie.
‘Stephen came up with it on a walk with Mackenzie,’ Katie also said, referring to the couple’s five-year-old daughter.
Mackenzie Jay is the oldest of the Millers’ pack, which also includes four-year-old Jackson Grant Miller and two-year-old Hudson Monroe Miller.
‘Hawthorne Hayes Miller was born on June 3rd at 9:04 am growing our crew to 4 kids 5 and under,’ Katie wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Stephen and Katie Miller welcomed little Hawthorne Hayes Miller on June 3. He’s the fourth child born to one of the main MAGA couples
The Miller family pose with new addition Hawthorne Hayes Miller (center) (from left) Hudson Monroe Miller, Mackenzie Jay Miller, Katie Miller, Stephen Miller and Jackson Grant Miller
‘Babies are the absolute best,’ she continued. ‘Our home is filled with so much love, laughter and joy. It’s an incredible feeling to know that you can make an entire person from scratch. I truly recommend parenthood – it’s a 10/10 life experience.’
Hawthorne’s birth comes after Katie endured a scary moment during her pregnancy.
In April, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a heavily pregnant Katie was frantically rushed out of the high-profile event after gunshots were fired.
Alleged shooter Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was intercepted by security guards in the hallway of the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC, with guests hastily escorted to safety.
In the aftermath, nasty rumors circulated online that Miller’s husband had used her as a ‘human shield’ after photos showed him standing behind her during the evacuation.
The now mom-of-four, who is also a political adviser and served as Press Secretary to former Vice President Mike Pence until 2021, spoke about the chaotic moment during an appearance on Fox News just a few days later, refuting that claim.
‘It’s like, how do you stand up while eight months pregnant from the floor? You really can’t without help,’ she told The Ingraham Angle.
‘So my dear husband lifts me up, and Brian, who’s our detail, says to Stephen, “she goes first,” so I went first because the threat was behind us,’ she explained.
Hawthorne Hayes Miller (center left) is photographed with his siblings Hudson Monroe Miller (left), Mackenzie Jay Miller (center right) and Jackson Grant Miller (right)
Miller gushed about motherhood and said: ‘It’s an incredible feeling to know that you can make an entire person from scratch’
In April, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a heavily-pregnant Katie Miller (right) was frantically rushed out of the high-profile event after gunshots were fired
‘And so what everyone sees is my husband maybe copping a feel, but what I would say is that he wasn’t going to put his hands on my stomach because that’s where our baby is, and so he just moves his hands upwards,’ she added.
When asked about human shield rumors, Katie said: ‘They really can’t let Stephen Miller have a good news cycle.’
‘He’s done so much for this country thanks to President Trump… Stephen did a phenomenal job and he was behind me and protecting not only me but our baby,’ she added.
At the same time, Katie also blamed the severity of her pregnancy on her husband’s genetics.
In February, Miller invited Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and his wife, Liz Oz, onto The Katie Miller Podcast to discuss everything from vaccines and fertility to vegetarian diets before turning to pregnancy.
‘How is it that baby in your belly right now doesn’t get rejected by you, because that baby has half Stephen’s genes?’ Dr Oz asked Miller.
‘But you don’t think that’s partly why women have, like, giant immunological responses when they’re pregnant?’ Katie Miller responded.
‘This is my own personal theory. Like why have I been more nauseous this pregnancy? Why have I had more eczema this pregnancy?
‘It’s because it’s more of my husband’s genetic makeup than mine in this baby.’
Oz pushed back, noting that a child inherits half of its genes from each parent.
However, Miller, who met her husband while serving in the first Trump administration and married in 2020, remained firm in her stance.
‘I’m telling you this baby’s going to turn out looking like him,’ she concluded.
