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Mick Mulvaney is trying to achieve as an Interim Chief of Staff in the White House what he could never have done as a Conservative brandon of Congress.
This week, Mulvaney helped persuade President Trump to support a legal effort to abolish the Affordable Care Act at the expense of the objections of some members of the administration and Republican leaders to Capitol Hill.
His speech was presented Monday during the "political period" scheduled with Trump and covered several meetings throughout the day. Some members of the President's legal team and his Justice Department have been reluctant, as has Vice President Pence's skepticism for the cancellation of President Barack Obama's health bill, but only if Republicans are ready for an alternative, according to the government. White House officials familiar with the discussions that spoke under the guise of anonymity to describe the private talks.
But Trump has just won a victoryfollowing the conclusion of the investigation of the special advocate Robert S. Mueller III in Russia – was in agreement with Mulvaney and was eager to go from the front dismantle the health law of his predecessor.
"The Republican Party will soon be known as the Health Care Party," he enthused Tuesday when he heard a luncheon of Republican senators. He seemed to be trying to justify the unexpected decision of his administration, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday: "If the Supreme Court decides that Obamacare is revoked, we will have a much better plan than Obamacare."
Mulvaney and his allies have told Trump that joining a lawsuit to overthrow the ACA would help him keep his election promise and could help his re-election, but congressional Republicans are concerned that it will not help. he sent the president on a suicide mission. Republicans are united in their opposition to the Obama Health Care Law, but they remain divided on how to replace it. Democrats are eager to exploit this tension while making health care a central element of the 2020 campaign.
Mulvaney's behind-the-scenes role – who in Congress was a member of the right caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and who had gained a reputation for frustrating Republican leaders – highlights how he acted as the leader. 39, one of Trump 's main aides, first as budget director. and now as acting chief of staff.
If Trump is well known in the White House for his lack of interest in politics and nuances, Mulvaney seems to be specializing in this area. But the interim chief of staff also sought to present his long-standing views so as not to harm the president. This allowed Mulvaney to use his proximity to power to directly develop major White House policy proposals, which echo his priorities during a congressional career, devoting more time to shouting than to the rooms where agreements have been concluded.
He used his office budget boom to develop spending plans significantly reducing the funding of programs such as education, environmental protection and housing. Earlier this year, following a partial government shutdown he had supported, Mulvaney had been an aggressive contributor to the development of the controversial emergency declaration plan to finance large areas of government. a border wall without Congressional approval – and nicknamed it "D-Day," officials said. This is a move that has deeply frustrated many Republicans in the Senate, but Mulvaney told the Speaker that senators would not replace him. And now he has pushed Trump into a health struggle that many party members want to avoid.
"The greatest political responsibility that can exist is to advocate an interruption of coverage for Americans who are currently satisfied with their health care," said Josh Holmes, former senior advisor to Senate Majority Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky.). "What has happened in the last six months is that the Democrats have dealt with health issues, walked to the brink and are ready to drop. The only thing that saves them is a Republican who grabs them by the collar and jumps them instead. "
Representative Mark Meadows (CR-N.), Who chairs the Freedom Caucus and is close to Mulvaney, said the interim leader was taking the right approach. "The 2020 elections will focus more on domestic politics than on foreign policy," Meadows said. "It's the right place for Mick Mulvaney."
In a new file filed Monday night, the Justice Department argued that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, should be dismissed in its entirety. The complaint was filed with the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit of New Orleans, where an appeal is pending in a case brought by a Republican state attorney general challenging the constitutionality of the law. A Texas federal judge ruled in December that the entire law was invalid, in an opinion that went much further than the administration's position at the time.
Prior to Monday's filing, the Department of Justice said there were only grounds to revoke the legal protections of consumers, including those with pre-existing health conditions, but the rest should remain intact . Now, the administration wants the whole law to be rejected.
Politico has for the first time reported on the role played by Mulvaney in promoting Trump's invalidation of Obamacare.
Mulvaney turns out to be a chief of staff very different from his predecessors. Reince Priebus, the first to occupy this position, spent much of his time traveling the West Wing trying to manage his presidential and warring factions in the West Wing. Trump's second chief of staff, John Kelly, was a strict guardian who was working to limit the circle of the president's relatives.
"What would surprise people is that the Freedom Caucus member who went to the OMB and who is now Chief of Staff is willing to evaluate things without making his opinions part of the calculations," he said. said Meadows. "L & # 39; other [thing] Mick Mulvaney probably occupies the second most powerful position in Washington, DC, yet he allows others to have access to the president and does not feel challenged.
Mulvaney took a more relaxed approach, although he held three different positions in the administration – he was at an acting moment in the Office of Consumer Financial Protection – and sometimes held two roles simultaneously.
White House officials said Mulvaney was generally well liked in the West Wing, allowing a lively debate and empowering various advisors and officials. He helped maintain his personal relationship with Trump after golf – and was on the ground with the President as recently as Sunday, where the subject of health care was also discussed.
"Mick's approach is simple, but not hands-free," said Kellyanne Conway, White House advisor. "He is involved in every political discussion, every presidential decision-making exercise, and he and his team ensure that the president is fully informed."
Mulvaney's associates deliberately worked to keep his profile low, saying that Trump was making his way to the councilors when he was reading stories that they were controlling him, shaping him or trying to influence him. Mulvaney refused to be interviewed for this article.
He poses detailed questions to the president on his daily schedule, knowing that Trump does not like being overloaded with time, enjoys having free time and adheres to his wishes. He also took the initiative to try to play the role of repairman in the Trump Beltway, becoming familiar with as many rules and laws as possible to help his boss avoid obstacles.
Earlier this month, when Trump launched 52 frenetic tweets in just 34 hours, Mulvaney was on vacation in Las Vegas. He told other White House associates that he was afraid of Trump's tweets only if they threatened a legislative priority – such as alienating a necessary vote – or if they were announcing a policy or personnel.
Mulvaney also described a steep learning curve in foreign policy and told others how surreal it was to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Hanoi summit last month.
His maneuvers in the health field caused consternation among many members of his party. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Minority Leader, urged Trump, for example, to refrain from pressuring the courts to overthrow Obamacare, a private project reported for the first time. by Axios. A Republican strategist in frequent contact with the White House said that some members of the administration were frustrated by his "malicious gesture", describing Mulvaney as "respectful of the rules of the caucus for freedom".
Mulvaney was lined up with a broad coalition of conservative groups who worked with Republican attorneys general who filed a lawsuit against the ACA and urged the president to adopt a tougher legal line, according to a former member of the court. Trump's political transition team and steering committee. member of the Conservative Action Project. Others, including Secretary of Social Services and Health, Alex Azar, and Attorney General, William P. Barr, are closer to McConnell, who fears that a total rejection of the 2010 law On health care lobbying Congress to restart the debate on replacing ACA, according to the individual, who talked about internal conversations under the guise of anonymity.
"Alex and, I think, Barr, have the most reserved positions," said the individual. "The President has gnawed with the approach of the harder line."
Mulvaney has also clashed with White House lawyer Pat Cipollone about health care, according to the New York Times.
Trump himself did not articulate his plan for health care and urged members of Congress to draft one. At his meeting on Tuesday at the Capitol, he told senators that health care was the main vulnerability of the party because they "owned" the economy and the border, officials said informed. He told them that he had decided, during the motorcade, that his new slogan would associate Republicans with the health care party.
Defenders of Mulvaney say that in the health field, he simply helps Trump achieve his political goals. When the Texas decision was first announced, for examplee Trump tweeted that the decision was "good news for America!"
Mulvaney's budgets as director of the OMB also gave priority to the president's goals over some of those Mulvaney himself championed as a fiery and conservative legislator. His budget plans have pushed spending on military programs, a priority for Trump, without, however, imposing significant structural changes to Medicare because Trump has ordered it. Trump, however, became angry last year when he learned that Mulvaney was behind a budget request for the wall that was asking for only $ 1.6 billion.
His austerity extends to his own life. Mulvaney, who shares an apartment with his niece near Logan Circle, sometimes makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the Chief of Staff's offices and tries not to use government aircraft while traveling. professionals, according to helpers and friends of the White House. He has slept in his Capitol Hill office and prefers meals of $ 20 or less.
If Mulvaney, who wears a shoe on his right foot for an Achilles heel injury, has struggled to move from the conservative factor of mischief who loved to lead his party's leadership to a Trump administration position, he showed few external signs. In a closed-door speech delivered to donors last year, Mulvaney claimed that Republicans should support Trump even if they found his style unpleasant, according to a Washington event recording. Post.
He cited the treatment by the administration of cases of religious freedom and said that there were many other examples.
Yet, he added, "it's not sexy."
Alice Crites and Amy Goldstein contributed to this report.
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