Donald Trump Names Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff
OMB director will replace John Kelly at the end of the year, on an interim basis

President Donald Trump announced Friday that Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney will be the acting White House chief of staff, starting in the new 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! 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!”
….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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018
Trump said current Chief of Staff John F. Kelly will continue on until the end of the year.
Mulvaney was until recently the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in addition to leading the OMB. Ross Vought, the current deputy OMB director, will be taking his place atop the OMB, according to a senior administration official. The agency is currently supposed to be finishing up work on the president’s budget request for fiscal 2020.
A senior administration official told reporters at the White House that there was no discernible distinction between an acting and permanent designation to the chief of staff position.
“There’s no time limit. He’s the acting chief of staff, which means he’s the chief of staff,” the official said. “He got picked because the president liked him. They get along.”
“We’ll see,” a second official told the White House press corps. “It’s what the president wants right now and if we have anything else, we’ll let you know.”
Mulvaney did not learn of his role from the president’s Twitter feed, one of the officials said.
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