President Trump has named Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as his new chief of staff.
In a pair of tweets Friday afternoon, Trump announced Mulvaney, 51, to the post.
Trump tweeted: “I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration.”
He added: “…I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! John will be staying until the end of the year. He is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to personally thank him for his service!”
A senior administration official told reporters at the White House that “there’s no time limit” for Mulvaney’s service in an “acting” capacity. “He’s the acting chief of staff, which means he’s the chief of staff. He got picked because the president liked him, they get along.”
Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman, was regarded as uninterested in the job earlier in the week, a source previously told the Washington Examiner. The senior official who briefed reporters at the White House stressed Mulvaney’s Capitol Hill experience, potentially useful as Democrats retake the House of Representatives in January.
“He knows Congress. He knows Capitol Hill,” the senior official said, describing him as “fiscally responsible.” He said Mulvaney “didn’t find out about it on Twitter” and met with Trump earlier on Friday.
One Republican source told the Washington Examiner they believe Mulvaney is Trump’s pick to permanently serve as chief of staff, but that the acting title is “probably semantics in case there’s a blow-up.”
Mulvaney, widely regarded as a competent and conservative administrator, also served as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for more than a year, until a permanent director took office this week following Senate confirmation.
Mulvaney will not resign as OMB director, but Deputy Director Russell Vought will take over day-to-day operations and run the office, said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
Mulvaney “will spend all of his time devoted to his role as the acting chief of staff for the president,” she said.
Mulvaney was named to the post after several candidates for chief of staff publicly said they were uninterested in the job. Trump reportedly discussed the chief of staff position this week with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former campaign aide David Bossie.
The Washington Examiner reported Monday that Bossie was on the president’s short list. The former Trump 2016 deputy campaign chairman faced a difficult path, given that members of Trump’s family were not eager to see him take the reins.
Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, had lunch with the president Friday. Bossie’s ties to Lewandowski — with whom he co-authored the recently released book Trump’s Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency — presented a hurdle, a former Trump administration official said.
The names of Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and White House adviser Kellyanne Conway were also circulated as possible contenders.
Sanders said Wednesday that Trump told Meadows he was needed in Congress. Christie took himself out of the running Friday, and said it was “not the right time” for him and his family.
David Drucker and Robert Donachie contributed to this report.
