FBI Demotes Two Veteran Agents Investigating Threats Against Stephen Miller's Wife After Dispute Over Probe
The FBI demoted two counterterrorism supervisors after a dispute over alleged harassing calls to Katie Miller.
Sept. 28 2026, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
The FBI has demoted two veteran counterterrorism supervisors after a fight over how the bureau handled alleged harassing calls to Katie Miller, the conservative podcaster married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the bureau confirmed the moves, and officials say the decision stayed inside the Washington field office. Anonymous sources claim the Millers and FBI Director Kash Patel were unhappy with the pace and scope of the work.
Two Supervisors Sent Back to HQ
Michael Burgwald and Courtland Rae were removed following their alleged mishandling of harassing calls to Stephen Miller's wife.
Michael Burgwald led counterterrorism at the FBI's Washington field office and Courtland Rae was his deputy. Both were removed from those jobs Friday and transferred to headquarters.
Burgwald is a West Point graduate who received an award for a 2016 counterterrorism case, and Rae worked the Boston Marathon bombing investigation. Both men also worked the inquiry into the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and their unit handles threats tied to the Middle East.
Darren Cox, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office, issued the orders, and the two men lost their field leadership posts.
A Threat Assessment Stalled
FBI Director Kash Patel is said to have been unhappy with the pace of the investigation.
The immediate dispute was over a request that the counterterrorism section assess a person believed to have been making harassing calls to Katie.
Burgwald and Rae questioned whether the request was legal and legitimate.
Reportedly, the field team concluded the calls did not meet the threshold for an FBI investigation and found no link to terrorism. That finding did not sit well with bureau leadership.
Burgwald had already allegedly clashed with Patel on other matters, and the Miller assessment was the final breaking point as the Miller family shared frustration that the office was moving too slowly.
What the FBI and White House Say
Darren Cox, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office, said Patel did not order the demotions.
Cox said Patel did not order the demotions.
"Director Patel did not order this decision. This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs," Cox noted. "Any suggestion otherwise is false."
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said that Stephen and Katie had no contact with Burgwald or Rae.
Bis said senior FBI leaders concluded the two men were "stifling investigations into very serious threats" and removed them on their own.
Miller family Concerned Over Threats
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The Millers moved into military housing.
The Millers left an Arlington home last fall for military housing during a separate inquiry into alleged threats against them.
Details of the newer calls have not been made public, and the callers have not been identified.
