The former acting head of the CFPB will replace John Kelly in the role
President Donald Trump has named the former acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be his acting chief of staff.
The president announced the selection of Mick Mulvaney Friday, according to a RealClearPolitics report. Mulvaney will replace current chief of staff John Kelly, who will be staying in the position through the end of the year.
“Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration,” Trump tweeted. “I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Mulvaney’s selection ends a chaotic attempt to replace the departing Kelly, in which several of Trump’s picks for the job declined the offer. Trump’s first choice, Nick Ayers, is currently chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence. Ayers, however, declined the job and decided to leave the White House altogether. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also declined the post.
Mulvaney is the head of the Office of Management and Budget, and also served as acting director of the CFPB until current CFPB head Kathy Kraninger was confirmed earlier this month.
Mulvaney’s time at the CFPB was marked by controversy, with Democratic lawmakers insisting that his leadership decisions undermined the agency’s stated mission and were too friendly to Wall Street.
Trump reportedly gets along well with Mulvaney – a departure from his relationship with Kelly, with whom the president frequently clashed. However, Mulvaney’s relationship with Trump may become strained now that he has been tapped for the chief of staff position – several newspapers have reported on an incident in 2016 in which the former CFPB head called Trump “a terrible human being” during a campaign forum.
