Trump Tweets Chief of Staff Pick

It's Mick Mulvaney
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 14, 2018 5:08 PM CST
Trump Tweets Chief of Staff Pick
Mick Mulvaney   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

President Trump on Friday picked budget director Mick Mulvaney to be his next chief of staff, the AP reports, ending a chaotic search for a new chief of staff that had been inching forward with the feel of an unfolding reality TV show. Trump tweeted that Mulvaney "will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction.” In another tweet, Trump said: "Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration," Trump posted. "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!"

Though deemed an "acting" chief of staff, Mulvaney's term will be open-ended, according to a senior White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. The position does not require confirmation. Mulvaney, who will be Trump's third chief of staff, will now take on his third job in the administration; he is the head of the Office of Management and had simultaneously led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A former Tea Party congressman, Mulvaney was among a faction on the hard right that bullied GOP leaders into a 2013 government shutdown confrontation by insisting on lacing a must-pass spending bill with provisions designed to cripple President Barack Obama's signature health care law. (Before the Mulvaney announcement, Chris Christie bowed out.)

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