Biden immigration strategist Susan Rice burning sage which ‘combats negativity’ in her office after 4 years of Stephen Miller

Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is apparently burning sage in her office, which was formerly occupied by Donald Trump strategist Stephen Miller.

Mr Miller was the architect of some of the last administration's most controversial immigration plans, including the child separation policy, the Muslim ban and the use of military money to build the border wall.

Burning sage has long been used by indigenous peoples in ceremonies meant to cleanse spaces from negativity and to promote healing.

Alongside her sage, Ms Miller also hung a painting made by a Haitian artist depicting a group of Black individuals in colourful clothing walking on a street.

Ms Rice will take a leading role in Mr Biden's immigration policies.

She said on 3 February that the administration would form a task force with the purpose of reuniting the 3,000 children separated from their families under the Trump-era policy.

That was the same month that Mr Biden's administration was criticised for re-opening a Trump-era border detention facility to house children of migrants.

In response to the criticism, Ms Rice recently led a Biden administration trip to tour a Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol facility and a Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement centre.

The visiting officials discussed capacity needs at the facilities.

Ms Rice formerly served as Barack Obama's national security advisor and faced fierce scrutiny from Republicans in the wake of the Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead.

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