The president has a new acting chief of staff: Mick Mulvaney.Mulvaney, who proudly embraces the nickname “right-wing nutjob,” has juggled various positions across the Trump administration and has reportedly eyed the president’s chief of staff position for months. He’s served as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and currently serves as the director for the Office of Management and Budget. He’ll now be the president’s third chief of staff.“Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration,” the president wrote in his announcement on Twitter Friday afternoon.
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The pool of potential nominees had quickly dried up in recent days. Former New Jersey governor and 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie was initially tapped to replace outgoing Chief of Staff John Kelly. But after Christie said he didn’t want the job, the president began eyeing his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a possible candidate. Nick Ayers, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, declined the job after Trump offered it to him last week.Reince Priebus, former chair of the Republican National Committee, served from Trump’s inauguration but resigned July 31 after reports of infighting between Trump advisers and paranoia about leaks to the press. Kelly, a former Marine Corps general and former head of Homeland Security under Trump, took over, bringing optimism that he'd be a calming force in the White House.But that didn't last that long. After months of reports that Kelly would be leaving imminently, Trump announced his resignation last week.Cover image: Budget Director Mick Mulvaney listens during a National Space Council meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)