Tag: Mick Mulvaney

Former Trump chief of staff calls ex-President’s Capitol riot claims ‘manifestly false’

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The former chief of staff to ex-President Donald Trump on Saturday pushed back against his former boss’ recent attempt to whitewash the history of the January 6 Capitol riot. 

Mick Mulvaney, who stepped down as Trump’s special envoy to Northern Ireland after the insurrection, called Trump’s comments that his supporters were “hugging and kissing” police officers and posed “zero threat,” despite widespread violence, “manifestly false.”

“I was surprised to hear the President say that. Clearly there were people who were behaving themselves, and then there were people who absolutely were not, but to come out and say that everyone was fine and there was no risk, that’s just manifestly false — people died, other people were severely injured,” Mulvaney told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “Newsroom.” Continue reading.

Mick Mulvaney is latest Trump administration official to resign — says more expected to quit

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Former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has just resigned his post as United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Mulvaney, who also once served as Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, says he expects others administration officials to quit over Wednesday’s Trump-supported insurrection.

“I called [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo last night to let him know I was resigning from that. I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mulvaney told CNBC.

“You can’t look at that yesterday and think ‘I want to be a part of that,'” he said referring to the attempted coup by Trump insurrectionists who took over the U.S. Capitol. Continue reading.

Mulvaney calls U.S. coronavirus testing abilities ‘inexcusable,’ breaking from Trump

‘I know it isn’t popular to talk about in some Republican circles,’ Trump’s former chief of staff says.

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Monday criticized the U.S. coronavirus testing process, calling his family’s difficulties in obtaining tests and delays in the results “inexcusable” in the seventh month of the pandemic, splitting from his former boss’ repeated boasts about testing.

“I know it isn’t popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a testing problem in this country,” Mulvaney wrote in an op-ed for CNBC.

Mulvaney, who served in Congress before leading the White House budget office and becoming chief of staff, said his son had recently been tested for the virus and had to wait up to a week for the results, and that his daughter was turned away from getting a test before she went to visit her grandparents. Continue reading.

Mnuchin emerges as key asset in Trump’s war against coronavirus

The Hill logoTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has taken on an outsized role in the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus, serving as a key conduit between President Trump and Congress. 

Mnuchin has helped shepherd through two massive legislative packages aimed at helping address the public health crisis and the ensuing economic fallout, engaging constantly with Democratic leaders despite the considerable partisan divide that has plagued Washington.

“We had had Secretary Mnuchin and Mr. Mulvaney and others, and I think both Republicans and Democrats made it very clear the person they wanted to talk to with was Secretary Mnuchin,” said Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), referencing Trump’s outgoing acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Continue reading.

Blockbuster new book reveals Mick Mulvaney thought it was a good thing Donald Trump is mentally ill

AlterNet logoOusted White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney suggested it may be a good thing that President Donald Trump is mentally ill, including to an anecdote in a new book reported by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

Dowd noted supporters of Trump have been calling into question “Joe Biden’s mental acuity.”

“Democrats can resort to this sort of sniping, too. Many Trump critics in 2016, and in the year after his election, pushed the idea that his father had suffered from Alzheimer’s and now Trump was losing it and that his vocabulary was eroding,” Maureen Dowd wrote.’  Continue reading.

Trump names Mark Meadows as new chief of staff

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Friday announced that Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) would replace Mick Mulvaney as his chief of staff, becoming the fourth person to hold the position during Trump’s tenure.

The president announced the news in a tweet, saying he would appoint Mulvaney as U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.

“I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff. I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” Trump tweeted Friday night while in Palm Beach, Fla., for fundraising events after a day of official travel. Continue reading.

White House chief of staff claims press covering coronavirus to take Trump down

The Hill logoWhite House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Friday downplayed the threat of the coronavirus but acknowledged likely school closures and disruptions to public transportation in the United States as a result of the outbreak.

He also accused the press of peddling a false narrative about the administration “scrambling” to contain the virus, saying he briefed Congress with other top health officials six weeks ago. He accused the media of ignoring the coronavirus until now because publications were too preoccupied with Trump’s impeachment before that, which he called a “hoax.”

“Why didn’t you hear about it?” Mulvaney told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday morning in a discussion with Stephen Moore, an economic expert at the Heritage Foundation. “The press was covering their hoax of the day because they thought it would bring down the president.” Continue reading.

White House chief of staff claims press covering coronavirus to take Trump down

The Hill logoWhite House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Friday downplayed the threat of the coronavirus but acknowledged likely school closures and disruptions to public transportation in the United States as a result of the outbreak.

He also accused the press of peddling a false narrative about the administration “scrambling” to contain the virus, saying he briefed Congress with other top health officials six weeks ago. He accused the media of ignoring the coronavirus until now because publications were too preoccupied with Trump’s impeachment before that, which he called a “hoax.”

“Why didn’t you hear about it?” Mulvaney told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday morning in a discussion with Stephen Moore, an economic expert at the Heritage Foundation. “The press was covering their hoax of the day because they thought it would bring down the president.” Continue reading.

Why a Top Trump Aide Said ‘We Are Desperate’ for More Immigrants

New York Times logoImmigrants are critical to expanding the United States’ labor pool. Mick Mulvaney acknowledged that, even if President Trump’s policies do not.

WASHINGTON — At a private event last week, Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, stated a reality that economists treat as conventional wisdom but that the Trump administration routinely ignores: The United States needs immigration to fuel future economic growth.

“We are desperate, desperate for more people,” Mr. Mulvaney told a crowd in England. “We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth.” He said the country needed “more immigrants” but wanted them in a “legal” fashion.

Mr. Mulvaney’s sentiments are at odds with President Trump’s crackdown on undocumented entries and family-based immigration into the United States. But they reflect the viewpoint of economists and many in the business community, who say that immigrants are needed to power the U.S. labor market as growth in the native-born work force rapidly slows as the population ages and people have fewer children. Continue reading.

Why Mick Mulvaney Wants To Remain ‘Acting’ White House Chief

Mick Mulvaney has been Donald Trump’s “acting” chief of staff for more than 14 months, making him the longest-serving of the three chiefs of staff Trump’s had since taking office.

Given Mulvaney has been around so long, it’s curious why “acting” is still part of his job title given he’s been around for so long.

But on Wednesday, Mulvaney revealed the real reason he keeps the “acting” as part of his job title: money. Continue reading.