Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Mulvaney out as Trump reshuffles
In a staff overhaul, President Donald Trump names Rep. Mark Meadows as his new chief of staff.
WASHINGTON — Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s third chief of staff, was replaced Friday by North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, an announcement Trump made in a tweet.
Trump named Mulvaney special envoy to Northern Ireland after a 14-month tenure in which he made few, if any, attempts to curb the president’s often impulsive actions and statements.
Meadows, one of the most conservative members of the House since 2013, has been a staunch Trump defender and leading surrogate during the recent impeachment.
Mulvaney, a former member of Congress from South Carolina, made his name in Trump’s orbit as a utility player, willing to take on three different jobs, two of them on an acting basis, and eager to subsume his own beliefs in the service of Trump’s.
He ascended to the chief of staff’s post in January 2019 after the departure of John F. Kelly, a retired general who as chief of staff became marginalized after he attempted to impose more discipline on the president’s decision-making process and restrict the access that some of Trump’s friends and informal advisers enjoyed.
Trump made it clear that he resents such restrictions and, at least initially, was comfortable with Mulvaney’s laid-back approach. As the onetime congressman gradually surrounded himself in the West Wing with loyal aides, he worked to avoid confrontation with his boss.
But Trump never gave Mulvaney the formal title of chief of staff, calling him “acting chief of staff” throughout his tenure. Though Mulvaney said he did not mind the slight, it was a constant reminder that his lease on the job was subject to Trump’s whims.
His most embarrassing moment came in October, when he held a White House news briefing to announce Trump’s decision to host the Group of 7 conference of world leaders at his resort in Florida. After insisting Trump would not make a profit, advertising the hotel’s amenities from the White House podium and dismissing concerns about self-dealing, Mulvaney further jeopardized Trump’s defense against the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry.
He said Trump had temporarily held up nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine until President Volodymyr Zelenskiy satisfied three conditions, including Trump’s request that the government investigate Democrats, and a debunked claim that Ukraine played a role in influencing the 2016 election.
“I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy,” Mulvaney said.
The news conference proved disastrous. Trump canceled his plans to host the G-7 at his hotel and Mulvaney struggled to walk back his statements regarding Ukraine.
But the admission struck at the heart of the impeachment inquiry and seemed to confirm a quid pro quo that Trump had denied.
Before working for Trump, Mulvaney was a South Carolina congressman who made his name in the fiscally conservative tea party movement.