Trump picks budget director to be his interim chief of staff
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday named Mick Mulvaney, currently the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the White House chief of staff in an acting capacity.
Mulvaney replaces John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general who Trump ousted as chief of staff last week.
“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,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration.”
Mulvaney, a former Republican congressman from South Carolina who was elected to the House in 2010 as a member of the tea party movement, is one of the more ideologically conservative members of Trump’s Cabinet.
Mulvaney, 51, has held multiple posts in the Trump administration. He has served as budget director since the beginning, but also held the role of acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through much of the past year.
Trump’s selection of Mulvaney comes after several candidates announced they were not interested in the position. After meeting with Trump on Thursday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Friday he had taken himself out of consideration.