President Trump’s chief of staff Mick Mulvaney wasn’t told of the raid to kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi until it was already underway, raising questions about his status in the White House.
Mulvaney was at home in South Carolina and learned about the operation around the same time as the rest of the world, according to NBC News.
A senior administration official said Mulvaney had planned long ago to spend the weekend in South Carolina, and the decision to keep him out of the loop on the raid was not an indicator of his status with the president.
“The element of surprise was very important,” the official said. “People’s lives were on the line, so it was a very small group.”
A White House official said the “operation began very quickly, and while he was not able to get to a secure location in time to participate, he was briefed on its success upon conclusion.”
A person close to the White House said Trump didn’t include Mulvaney because he didn’t see him as having a role in national security matters.
[Related: Trump on Baghdadi raid silence: ‘Adam Schiff is the biggest leaker in Washington’]
Mulvaney traveled with Trump to an event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday when the raid was reportedly authorized but stayed behind in his home state at Trump traveled back to Washington.
Mulvaney did not return to the White House until Monday, a day after Trump announced Baghdadi’s death to the nation.
Former President George W. Bush’s longtime chief of staff Andy Card said he as “baffled” by Mulvaney being left in the dark, explaining that the chief of staff would typically be in national security meetings and responsible for coordinating top officials’ responses to the raid.
Trump has been considering replacing Mulvaney, who was never given the official chief of staff title and has been serving in the role since December 2018 in an “acting” capacity.
His standing in the White House is seen as being on shaky ground with his handling of the impeachment proceeding into Trump.
