Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney may soon have the gig on a permanent basis.
Four current and former officials told Politico that President Trump is planning to make it official after Mulvaney spent almost three months serving in the temporary position. The White House did not immediately respond for the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the matter.
Mulvaney, who also serves as the White House budget chief, reportedly meets with Trump several times a day and has worked to maintain good relationships with Trump family members and staffers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. During his time in the acting role Mulvaney has inserted eight aides loyal to him within the West Wing.
“[Mulvaney] has stayed out of a lot of people’s way,” a senior administration official told Politico. “No one is saying he is killing it but staying out of people’s way has helped.”
Although Trump has expressed his comfort with keeping staff in “acting” positions, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders responded last week to a reporter’s question about whether Mulvaney would become the permanent chief of staff by saying there’s “certainly a lot of possibility there.”
Despite disdainful comments about Trump before he was elected, Mulvaney has become a loyal defender of the president.
If he is made permanent, Mulvaney would be Trump’s third chief of staff after Reince Priebus and John Kelly. Prior to joining the Trump administration, Mulvaney served as a Republican congressman from South Carolina.
[Related: Trump allies say Mick Mulvaney has curtailed ‘palace intrigue’ in White House]
