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.
The New York Times reported that in a question-and-answer session with the Oxford Union in England, Mulvaney said being “acting” chief of staff allows him to also keep his role as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
If he gave up the “acting” in his job title, he would have to give up his OMB job — leading to a $20,000 pay cut.
For Mulvaney to keep a name in his title in order to take more taxpayer money is a hypocritical move for a man who rose to prominence by fighting for fiscal conservatism and cutting the national debt.
Before joining the Trump administration, Mulvaney was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus — a group of GOP lawmakers who rankled their party’s leadership when Republicans controlled the House.
House Freedom Caucus members caused numerous headaches for then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, including helping to kill off a GOP attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act back in 2017.
Mulvaney also admitted at the Oxford Union event that Republicans are hypocritical when it comes to the national debt.
“My party is very interested in deficits when there is a Democrat in the White House. The worst thing in the whole world is deficits when Barack Obama was the president,” Mulvaney said. “Then Donald Trump became president, and we’re a lot less interested as a party.”
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
