WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday picked budget director Mick Mulvaney to be his acting chief of staff, ending a chaotic search in…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday picked budget director Mick Mulvaney to be his acting chief of staff, ending a chaotic search in which several top contenders took themselves out of contention for the job.
“Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration,” Trump tweeted. “I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump added that his current chief of staff, John Kelly, “will be staying until the end of the year. He is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to personally thank him for his service!”
One senior White House official said there was no time limit on the appointment and that Mulvaney would fill the role of chief of staff indefinitely, regardless of the “acting” title.
Key to his selection: Mulvaney and the president get along and Trump has appreciated how the budget director briefs him, according to the official. Additionally, Trump prized the former congressman’s knowledge of Capitol Hill and political instincts as the White House prepares for both a Democratic-controlled House and the president’s upcoming re-election campaign.
Unlike with Kelly’s appointment, Mulvaney received the news before the president tweeted his announcement. Trump and Mulvaney met face to face Friday afternoon and spoke by phone in the evening, according to a second White House official. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the personnel matter on the record.
Mulvaney, who will be Trump’s third chief of staff, will now take on his third job in the administration. He is head of the Office of Management and Budget, and for a time had simultaneously led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Russell Vought, Mulvaney’s deputy, is to take over at OMB.
