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President Trump recently abruptly named Mick Mulvaney, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, chief of the White House staff on an acting basis.
Mulvaney replaces John F. Kelly, a retired four-star Navy retiree. The general of the body who was dismissed by Trump as chief of staff last week, and this appointment comes to end the week of extraordinary research of the president for a third chief of staff in two years .
"I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, will be appointed Acting Chief of Staff of the White House, replacing General John Kelly, who served our country with distinction, wrote Trump on Twitter. "Mick did a great job in the administration."
Trump adds, "I look forward to working with him in his new role as we continue to PROMOTE AMERICA AGAIN! John will remain until the end of the year. This is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to thank him personally for his service!
Trump chose Mulvaney because of the relationship that the two men forged during the first two years of Mulvaney's administration and prior experience in Congress, according to a senior official of the Administration which informed the journalists under the sole cover of anonymity.
"He was chosen because the president liked him," said this manager. "They get along well."
Mulvaney, a frequent visitor to the Oval Office, met with Trump on Friday to discuss the budget and a possible closure of the government, said the official, adding that Mulvaney knew he would be appointed chief of staff acting. Trump launched his tweet.
Mulvaney will lead a White House under siege. Democrats will win a majority in the House in January and promise a series of surveillance investigations, including allegations of corruption within the administration. Meanwhile, the investigation by special advocate Robert S. Mueller III in Russia is intensifying, while a separate investigation by federal prosecutors in New York is concerning illegal payments in hidden money to alleged women having relationships with Trump.
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Mulvaney, a former Republican congressman from South Carolina, is one of the most ideologically conservative members of Trump's cabinet. He was elected to the House of Commons in 2010 as a member of the Tea Party and was known for his declared support for fiscal conservatism.
The senior manager of the administration stated that there was "no time limit" for the appointment of Mulvaney, explaining that he was appointed on an acting basis "because that's what the president wants. "
Russell Vought, Deputy Director of Management and Budget, will replace Mulvaney as Director of the Commission, said the manager.
Mulvaney, 51, has held several positions. in the Trump administration. He has held the position of Budget Director from the beginning, but has also served as Interim Director of the Office of Consumer Financial Protection throughout the past year until his permanent successor. Kathleen Kraninger is sworn in earlier this week.
Trump's selection of Mulvaney comes after several candidates publicly announced that they were not interested in the job. After meeting with Trump for more than an hour at the White House residence on Thursday night, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced Friday at noon that he was not there. was not taken into consideration.
Nick Ayers, chief of staff of Vice President Pence Trump offered the job to Trump last weekend but declined the invitation.
In recent days, Mulvaney's assistants downplayed his chances of becoming chief of staff, claiming he was not interested in the job.
But a senior White House official said Mulvaney. was interested all along. Earlier this year, at a private dinner, Mulvaney told Trump he wanted to become a chef de cabinet. He swore loyalty to the president's family – including his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, both senior advisers to the White House – and said he would not divulge any information to reporters. He told Trump that he would manage the staff, but would not try to handle the president – an answer that would appeal to Trump, according to one person with direct knowledge of the conversation. At the time, Trump decided whether he should keep Kelly or not.
[‘This has spiraled downward’: Democrats introduce Trump to divided government]
Mulvaney developed his own political profile, calling donors and participating in political lunches and lunches. He has often discussed his conversations with the President, according to a person who has attended events, and speaks of Trump with affection.
Trump was deeply upset that his search for a chief of staff had been portrayed negatively in the media. candidates rejected it, according to a senior administration official.
"In the best case, it is a thankless, brutal and devouring job," said Chris Whipple, author of "The Gatekeepers". Chiefs of Staff of the White House. "And under this president in particular, it's almost an impossible mission. . . No one wants the job because it is impossible to perform his duties given Trump's personality and his belief that he can fly solo.
Trump and Mulvaney barely knew each other when the new president asked the incendiary Republican to take charge of his budget. The choice was to give the president credibility with the Conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Once in the White House, Mulvaney quickly became a Trump-minded political figure, supporting the president's vision of big debt and accepting so much of the spending. The cuts he had been demanding for years as a congressman would never materialize under a Trump administration.
Mulvaney last year presented a budget proposal that did not eliminate the deficit – which was once considered sacrilegious by members of House Freedom Caucus, which he co-founded A few years ago.
"He complained about everything the President tried to do," said Steve Bell, former Republican staff director at the Senate Budget Committee. "He presented budgets that he probably knew were incoherent because the president had asked him. And he will probably do what the president asks him to do. On the positive side, he will maintain a very good connection with the Republicans of the House.
But Mulvaney has virtually no credibility with congressional Democrats, many of whom have made fun of Trump to add $ 2 trillion in debt over the past two years. . Mulvaney was part of the ruling group of Republicans who called for a drastic reduction in spending and deficit, and even to the leadership of a government in 2013.
"According to the history of Mulvaney both at the OMB and its proximity to Trump, I do not see how it helps the Democrats or improves a bipartite process on key issues, "said Jared Bernstein, chief economist of the former vice president Joe Biden. "He is an unconditional supporter of Trump, far more than many other members of the administration, which speaks volumes."
[Trump demands actions to reduce deficit while pushing new deficit spending]
Trump had temporarily installed Mulvaney at the CFPB, created under the Obama administration and which he was seeking to reduce by cutting his budget and reducing its regulatory scope.
Perhaps helping Mulvaney's future prospects, he has imposed himself as one of the most meticulous officials at key moments. He developed a deep understanding of the complexities of many government programs and was unashamed to reject any criticism that the Trump administration was stirring up.
Mulvaney defended, for example, the White House's decision to call for a reduction of food aid to the elderly. and young children, claiming that there was little evidence that these programs were working.
As a chief of staff, he will have to have an even broader mandate, dealing with both national and international problems, not to mention the inclinations of Trump, who likes to make calls on his own without being told tell who to talk to or when.
Mulvaney is very popular in the White House by various factions. He was able to build friendships with uncompromising conservatives and more centrist advisers, forming a friendship with former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, who helped them navigate in the fight for tax reduction last year.
In Congress, Mulvaney was a hawk with a loud deficit. But he oversaw a dramatic increase in the deficit during his stay at the White House – in part because of a sharp increase in spending as well as last year's tax-cutting law. Deficits are now approaching $ 1 trillion a year, an unusually high amount during an economic boom.
Mulvaney said that he was still supportive of deficit reduction, but that it was impossible with the current political momentum in Washington, largely accusing the Democratic Senate of not letting it go. have done. accept all discounts.
But Trump himself showed little interest in reducing the deficit, which Mulvaney acknowledged. Last year, Mulvaney asked if Trump would be willing to make cuts in Medicare or Social Security as part of a broader budget deal, which he has rejected.
Mulvaney has been under control since arriving at the White House. He told a group of banking executives earlier this year that during his stay in Congress, he had favored lobbyists who made a financial contribution, according to an article in the New York Times.
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