Katie Miller, Trump's former aide, joins Musk's xAI
What's the story
Katie Miller, a former communications manager and political adviser in US President Donald Trump's White House, has joined Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI. She left her position at the White House in May to work full-time for Musk, according to CNN. The news comes as a surprise considering her husband Stephen Miller, Trump's former deputy chief of staff, continues to work with Trump.
New position
Katie's role at xAI
Katie has been involved in communications activities at Musk's company. Her email address was used to send out information about pollution checks conducted at xAI's Memphis site, to the reporters. The rare statement from xAI said its new power system will have advanced emissions control technology, making it the cleanest data center of its kind in the US.
Political shift
Move comes amid tensions between Trump and Musk
Katie's departure from Trump's team and her move to work with Musk have raised eyebrows. This is particularly because Stephen continues to work with Trump while Katie has joined Musk, who is politically at odds with Trump. The change comes after Musk hinted at starting a new political party and Trump suggested he might target Musk's companies or even deport him.
Community engagement
What Katie said in her email
In her email, Katie stressed xAI's commitment to being a "valued partner to the Memphis community." She also shared a third-party pollution study that showed no dangerous pollution near the Memphis data center. However, when asked about her exact role at xAI or if she works at other Musk companies like Tesla or SpaceX, she did not respond, Fortune reports.