Stutzman, who represents Indiana's 3rd Congressional District, made the remarks Sunday on CNN's "Inside Politics Sunday" with Manu Raju, days after Democrats regained control of Congress by flipping seats that had been considered safely Republican.

"I come from the business world just like President Trump does," Stutzman said. "And you know what? If your team takes a beating just as badly as we took this last week, you have to fire people. You don't promote those who were in charge of what was supposed to be delivered."

Stutzman aimed most of his criticism at Miller, the architect of the administration's mass immigration crackdown, calling the promotion to a more powerful post a mistake and saying Miller should not be a voice for the American people. Miller previously served as deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security.

The congressman said he would prefer a fresh face in the role and argued that Midwest voters were turned off by Miller's tone and messaging on immigration enforcement.

"President Trump hasn't even deported as many illegals as what President Obama did," Stutzman said. "Because of Stephen Miller's messaging and the tone that was coming out from the Republican Party on this particular issue you would think that deportations were through the roof."

An analysis of public data by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, estimated that the Department of Homeland Security carried out about 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of Trump's second term. Deportations are up compared with the Biden administration and the first Trump term but remain below levels reported in the early 2000s; about 17% of removals were voluntary departures.

The White House announced Miller's promotion to replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff days after Democrats won control of Congress, a move that signaled the administration would double down on the hardline domestic policies that have defined Trump's second term.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended Miller in a post on X, calling him "a Trump OG" who "has been with the President since the very beginning."

"There is no bigger advocate for the Trump agenda than Stephen," Cheung said, "and he will help the Administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term."

The White House media office did not immediately respond to inquiries about Stutzman's criticism.

Stutzman's break with the White House is notable in a state where other Republicans have embraced the pick. Indiana U.S. Sen. Jim Banks tweeted that Miller is an "excellent pick" for the job.

Stutzman also pointed to the economy as a drag on Republicans, saying gas prices reminded voters that things are not going as well as they should.

His call for change has limits. Stutzman said he would not vote to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ahead of a possible vote later this week.

"President Trump is the commander in chief so that would be up to President Trump if he wanted to let him go," Stutzman said.