Breaking news out of the White House as President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that OMB Director Mick Mulvaney will replace John Kelly as “Acting White House Chief of Staff:
I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018
….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
It’s actually a good pick:
It's Mulvaney. Which makes perfect sense. https://t.co/rXoDyxfVkM
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 14, 2018
There is some reporting that the announcement took Mulvaney by surprise:
I talked to a Mulvaney aide on the phone 30 minutes ago who claimed to have no idea. https://t.co/pZplplywL2
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 14, 2018
An anonymous senior administration official denied that Mulvaney found out about the job on Twitter, however:
From @hunterw pool report on background briefing from White House official: "President Trump announced Mulvaney's new position on Twitter. The official noted that Mulvaney 'didn't find out about it on Twitter.’"
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 14, 2018
And the SAO is cleaning up the president’s use of “acting” in his tweet:
WH official trying to clean up Mulvaney selection to WH pool: "There’s no time limit. He’s the acting chief of staff, which means he’s the chief of staff. He got picked because the president liked him."
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 14, 2018
A White House official tells the print pool that Trump and Mulvaney met face to face today. This person also told @hunterw that Mulvaney is acting chief of staff because the president desired such, despite our reporting showing that the president didn't want an acting chief.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 14, 2018
Russell Vought will replace Mulvaney at OMB:
NEW: OMB deputy Russell Vought will replace Mick Mulvaney when Mulvaney takes over as Trump’s chief of staff when John Kelly leaves at end of year.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) December 14, 2018
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Related:
Chris Christie reportedly 'a leading candidate' to replace John Kelly as Trump's chief of staff https://t.co/P1R7objNSi
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 14, 2018