Mick Mulvaney

Mulvaney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Mike, a real estate developer,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/01/mick-mulvaney-omb-trump-budget-profile-feature-215546|title=Mick the Knife|last=Grunwald|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Grunwald|date=September–October 2017|magazine=Politico Magazine}} and Kathy Mulvaney, a teacher. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.{{cite news|first=Sara|last=Clarke|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-01-24/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-mick-mulvaney|title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Mick Mulvaney|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=January 24, 2017 }} He later moved to Indian Land, South Carolina.{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001182 |title=Mulvaney, Mick |publisher=United States Congress}} He has Polish and Irish ancestry, with roots in County Mayo, Ireland. He attended Charlotte Catholic High School and then Georgetown University, where he majored in international economics, commerce and finance. At Georgetown, he was an Honors Scholar of the School of Foreign Service, and ultimately graduated with honors in 1989.{{cite web|url=https://www.sifma.org/people/mick-mulvaney/|title=Michael Mulvaney, Office of Management and Budget|website=sifma.org|publisher=Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association|location=New York City|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=April 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404142806/https://www.sifma.org/people/mick-mulvaney/|url-status=dead}}

Mulvaney attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned a full scholarship to attend law school, where his focus was on antitrust law. He earned a Juris Doctor in 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.congress.org/bio/id/157656|title=Sen. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC 16th District)|publisher=Congress.org|access-date=August 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306050800/http://www.congress.org/bio/id/157656|archive-date=March 6, 2012}}

From 1992 to 1997, Mulvaney practiced law with the firm James, McElroy and Diehl. Mulvaney joined his family's homebuilding and real estate business. He participated in the Owners and Presidents Management Program at Harvard Business School. He was a minority shareholder and owner-operator in Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, a privately held regional restaurant chain.{{cite web |url=http://www.fastcasual.com/article/99623/Sen-Mick-Mulvaney-latest-Salsarita-s-franchisee |title=Sen. Mick Mulvaney latest Salsarita's franchisee |date=March 23, 2009 |website=FastCasual.com |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710230704/http://www.fastcasual.com/article/99623/Sen-Mick-Mulvaney-latest-Salsarita-s-franchisee |archive-date=July 10, 2011}}

Mulvaney was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2006.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301004237/http://www.catholicvote.org/index.php?%2Fsite%2Fcandidates%2FMick_Mulvaney%2F&state=South%20Carolina |archive-date=March 1, 2012 |url=http://www.catholicvote.org/index.php?/site/candidates/Mick_Mulvaney/&state=South%20Carolina |title=Mick Mulvaney |publisher=Catholicvote.org |access-date=May 26, 2017 |url-status=dead}}

In 2008 an unexpected retirement created a vacancy in the South Carolina Senate. While in the State Senate, Mulvaney served on the Judiciary, Labor/Commerce/Industry, Medical Affairs, Agriculture/Natural Resources, and Corrections Committees. The Palmetto Family Council identified him as the Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2006 for his work on the Woman's Ultrasound Right to Know Act, which required physicians to perform ultrasounds on pregnant women seeking abortions and inform them of the fetus' gestational age before performing the procedure.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess121_2015-2016/bills/4629.htm|title=2015–2016 Bill 4629: Woman's Ultrasound Right to Know Act – South Carolina Legislature Online|website=www.scstatehouse.gov}}{{cite web |url=http://heritageaction.com/2012/04/congressional-profile-rep-mick-mulvaney-r-sc/ |title=Congressional Profile: Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) |publisher=Heritage Action For America |date=December 12, 2018}}

In 2010 he was named Legislator of the Year for his work in support of the State's Emergency Medical Services (EMS). He has received one of the few A+ ratings in the entire legislature from the South Carolina Club for Growth.

File:Mick Mulvaney, Official Portrait, 112th Congress.jpg

2010{{See also|2010 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina#District 5}}

Mulvaney, a GOP Young Gun, ran against Democratic incumbent John M. Spratt Jr. for {{ushr|SC|5}}. The race was highlighted by Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC's "Take Congress Back: 10 in '10" initiative as one of the top 10 House challenger races.{{cite news |title=Romney stumps in South Carolina as Mulvaney opens lead on Spratt |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/romney-stumps-south-carolina-mulvaney-opens-lead-spratt.html |first=Paul|last=Conner |newspaper=The Daily Caller |date=October 28, 2010}} Mulvaney's involvement in the now-defunct Edenmoor real estate development in Lancaster County, South Carolina became a campaign issue, with his opponents alleging that he misled the Lancaster County council and taxpayers to provide $30 million in public funding for the real estate development and that once the public funds had been approved, Mulvaney sold his interest in the development to a third party at a $7 million profit.{{cite news|last=Overman|first=Jenny|title=Mulvaney refutes latest Edenmoor accusation|url=http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/10/19/2540127/mulvaney-refutes-latest-edenmoor.html|newspaper=The Herald|date=October 19, 2010|access-date=May 28, 2012|archive-date=December 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214085958/http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/10/19/2540127/mulvaney-refutes-latest-edenmoor.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=Republican hopeful Mulvaney defends past land deal |url=http://www.heraldonline.com/latest-news/article12260726.html |first=Matt|last=Garfield |work=The Herald |date=October 8, 2010}} Mulvaney denied the allegations and said the project's failure was due to Democratic economic policies. He defeated Spratt, who had held the seat since 1983, with 55% of the vote.{{cite web |url=http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/19077/40477/en/summary.html|title=2010 General Election|publisher=South Carolina State Election Commission|date=November 18, 2010|access-date=May 28, 2012}}

Mulvaney's campaign against Spratt was aided by a 501(c)(4) organization named the Commission on Hope, Growth, and Opportunity. The group, which was established by anonymous donors and run by lobbyist Scott W. Reed, was accused by the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington of violating federal campaign finance laws and disclosing false information to the Internal Revenue Service.{{cite news |first=Jonathan|last=Weisman|title=Tax-Exempt Group's Election Activity Highlights Limits of Campaign Finance Rules|date=July 17, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/us/politics/hope-growth-and-opportunity-shows-limits-of-disclosure-rules.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 21, 2012}}

File:Mick Mulvaney by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg (CPAC) in Washington, D.C.]]

2012{{See also|2012 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina#District 5}}

He won re-election to a second term by defeating Democrat Joyce Knott 56%–44%.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/map/#/House/2012/SC|title=2012 Election Results Map by State|work=Politico}}{{cite web |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20121106/articles/121109811|title=Mulvaney easily defeats challenger to represent 5th Congressional District|work=GoUpstate.com}}

2014{{See also|2014 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina#District 5}}

He won re-election to a third term by defeating Democrat Tom Adams, a Fort Mill Town Council{{cite web|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/11/04/5290830/south-carolina-haley-graham-re.html#.VGKPkzTF-So|title=South Carolina: Haley, Graham re-elected; Scott to finish term|work=Charlotte Observer}} member, 59%–41%.{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/house/south-carolina/#.VGKPRzTF-So|title=South Carolina Election Results 2014: House Map by District, Live Midterm Voting Updates|work=Politico|date=November 15, 2014 }}

Mulvaney co-founded the bipartisan Blockchain Caucus, "meant to help congressmen stay up to speed on cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies," and develop policies that advance them.{{cite web |first=Avi|last=Mizrahi|url=http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/trump-picks-cryptocurrency-and-blockchain-advocate-as-budget-chief|title=Trump Picks Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Advocate as Budget Chief|website=Finance Magnates|date=December 20, 2016}}

2016{{See also|2016 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina#District 5}}

Mulvaney faced Ray Craig in the Republican primary and defeated him 78–22%.{{cite web|url=http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/62359/172196/en/summary.html |title=June 14, 2016 Statewide Primary Election official results |publisher=South Carolina State Election Commission |access-date=June 18, 2016}} Mulvaney was re-elected to a fourth term, winning over 59% of the vote against Fran Person, a former aide to then-Vice President Joe Biden.{{cite web|url=http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/64658/183653/en/summary.html |title=2016 Statewide General Election official results |publisher=South Carolina State Election Commission |access-date=December 5, 2016}}

During his time in the U.S. House, Mulvaney aligned himself with the Tea Party movement.{{cite web|title=Trump's tea party budget chief on collision course with GOP hawks |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-mulvaney-defense-budget-234077 |first=Jeremy|last=Herb |website=Politico |date=January 23, 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Andrew|title=Tea Party Gains Voice in Trump's Cabinet with Budget Chief |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senate-confirm-trump-budget-chief-45528644|date=February 16, 2017|website=ABC News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=February 17, 2017}} He is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus.{{cite news|last1=Weyl|first1=Ben|title=Who is Mick Mulvaney?|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/mick-mulvaney-budget-office-234060|access-date=May 23, 2017|website=Politico|date=January 24, 2017}}

He opposed gun control initiatives and the Affordable Care Act.{{cite news |title=GOP unmoved on gun control as massacres pile up |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/gop-unmoved-on-gun-control-as-massacres-pile-up-216407 |first=Jake|last=Sherman |website=Politico |date=December 3, 2015}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/us/politics/trump-mick-mulvaney-budget-office.html|title=In Mick Mulvaney, Trump Finds Anti-Establishment Leader for Budget Office|last1=Steinhauer|first1=Jennifer|date=December 17, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 13, 2017|last2=Shear|first2=Michael D.|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/60348/mick-mulvaney/|title=The Voter's Self Defense System|website=Project Vote Smart|access-date=March 13, 2017}} In response to criticism for meeting with the paleoconservative John Birch Society in July 2016, Mulvaney said, "I regularly speak to groups across the political spectrum because my constituents deserve access to their congressman. I can't remember ever turning down an opportunity to speak to a group based on the group's political ideology."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a51689/trump-national-security-advisor-austrian-right-wing/ |title=Trump's Sons Might Be the Ones to Sink Him |magazine=Esquire |first=Charles |last=Pierce |date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2019}}

In April 2018, Mulvaney told a room of banking industry executives and lobbyists that as a Congressman he refused to take meetings with lobbyists unless they contributed to his congressional campaigns.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/mulvaney-consumer-financial-protection-bureau.html|title=Mulvaney, Watchdog Bureau's Leader, Advises Bankers on Ways to Curtail Agency|last=Thrush|first=Glenn|date=April 24, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 25, 2018|issn=0362-4331}} He said, "If you are a lobbyist who never gave us money, I did not talk to you. If you are a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you." At the top of the hierarchy, he added, were his constituents: "If you came from back home and sat in my lobby, I talked to you without exception, regardless of the financial contributions."

According to The New York Times, Mulvaney took "a hard line on spending during President Obama's term, vowing not to raise the nation's debt limit and embracing the term 'Shutdown Caucus' because of his willingness to shut the government down instead." In 2015, Mulvaney voted against a government-funding resolution, which would have prevented a government shutdown, in part because it included funding for Planned Parenthood.{{cite news |title=The madness resumes |url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21666218-row-over-abortion-giving-group-republican-congressmen-excuse-sabotage |magazine=The Economist |date=September 26, 2015}} Explaining his vote, Mulvaney said, "This is not about women's health. It's about trafficking in pieces of dead children." After his appointment as head of the OMB in 2017, he reiterated his conditional position of support for a shutdown.

Mulvaney supported the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, which would have "[created] a commission tasked with eliminating and revising outdated and redundant federal regulations".{{cite news |title=Why Science Fans Should Be Very Worried About Trump's Pick for Budget Director |url=https://gizmodo.com/it-s-time-for-a-real-secession-movement-for-the-blue-st-1790349480 |first=Sophie|last=Kleeman |website=Gizmodo |date=December 20, 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s1484|title=Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015 (2015 – S. 1484) |website=GovTrack|access-date=December 15, 2018}}

On December 10, 2013, Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray announced that they had negotiated the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, a proposed two-year budget deal.{{cite news|title=Ryan budget deal gets positive review at closed-door Republican conference|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/192760-gop-leaders-whip-members-on-budget-deal/|access-date=December 12, 2013|newspaper=The Hill|date=December 11, 2013|first1=Erik|last1=Wasson |first2=Russell|last2=Berman}}{{cite web|title=Murray and Ryan Introduce Bipartisan Budget-Conference Agreement|url=http://budget.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364030|publisher=House of Representatives Committee on the Budget|access-date=December 12, 2013}} The budget deal capped the federal government's spending for Fiscal Year 2014 at $1.012 trillion and for Fiscal Year 2015 at $1.014.{{cite web|last=Desjardins|first=Lisa|title=The budget deal in plain English|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/10/the-budget-deal-in-plain-english/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211064739/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/10/the-budget-deal-in-plain-english/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 11, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013 |website=CNN|date=December 10, 2013}}

The proposed deal eliminated some of the spending cuts required by the sequester by $45 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in January and $18 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in 2015. This did not decrease federal spending; instead, by reducing the amount of spending cuts the government was going to be forced to make by the sequester, it actually increased government spending by $45 billion and $18 billion over what would have been spent had the sequester remained in place. Some Republicans wanted Speaker John Boehner to pursue a temporary measure that would cover the rest of Fiscal Year 2014 at the level set by the sequester—$967 billion, rather than pass this budget deal, which would have $45 billion in additional spending.{{cite news|last=Wasson|first=Erik|title=Conservatives: Ryan not tarnished by 'bad' deal |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/192787-conservatives-say-ryan-not-tarnished-by-bad-deal/|date=December 11, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Hill}}

The deal was designed to make up for this increase in spending by raising airline fees and changing the pension contribution requirements of new federal workers. According to The Hill, Mulvaney spearheaded opposition to the bill. He did not blame Ryan for the budget deal, instead saying the problem was that too few conservatives had been elected to Congress to pass a budget with a greater focus on debt reduction. Mulvaney said he expected the budget deal to pass because "it was designed to get the support of defense hawks and appropriators and Democrats", not conservatives.

On April 9, 2014, Mulvaney offered a proposal based on the Obama proposal as a substitute amendment in order to force a vote on the President's budget request. The President's proposal failed in a vote of 2–413, although Democrats were urged by their leadership to vote against this "political stunt".{{cite news|last=Marcos|first=Cristina|title=House kills Obama budget 2–413|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/votes/203134-house-kills-obama-budget-0-xxx/|access-date=April 10, 2014 |newspaper=The Hill|date=April 9, 2014}}

File:Mick Mulvaney by Gage Skidmore.jpg, September 2015]]

In September 2015, Mulvaney endorsed Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries.{{cite news|first=David|last=Weigel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/21/rep-mick-mulvaney-endorses-rand-paul-for-president|title=Rep. Mick Mulvaney endorses Rand Paul for president|date=September 21, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
• Committee on Small Business
• Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology
• Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
• Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce (chairman)

Caucus memberships

• Republican Study Committee
• Freedom Caucus{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-hard-line-republicans-who-pushed-john-boehner-out/ |first1=Carl|last1=Bialik|first2=Aaron|last2=Bycoffe|title=The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out|date=September 25, 2015|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=September 28, 2015}}
• Tea Party Caucus
• Liberty Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://congressionalconstitutioncaucus-garrett.house.gov/about-us/membership|publisher=Congressional Constitution Caucus|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614044928/https://congressionalconstitutioncaucus-garrett.house.gov/about-us/membership|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=dead}}
• Congressional Blockchain Caucus{{cite web|title=Bipartisan Blockchain Caucus formed in Congress|first=Jerry|last=Brito|url=https://coincenter.org/entry/bipartisan-blockchain-caucus-formed-in-congress|website=Coincenter|date=September 25, 2016}}

On December 16, 2016, Mulvaney was announced as President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/us/politics/mick-mulvaney-office-management-budget-trump.html|title=Trump Picks Mick Mulvaney, South Carolina Congressman, as Budget Director|newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 17, 2016|date=December 16, 2016|first=Michael|last=Shear}}

Mulvaney's nomination as director-designate was reviewed in hearings held by the members of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget and the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs then presented to the full Senate for a vote.

In his statement to the Senate Budget Committee, Mulvaney admitted that he had failed to pay $15,000 in payroll taxes from 2000 to 2004 for his triplets' nanny. Mulvaney said he did not pay the taxes because he viewed the woman as a babysitter rather than as a household employee. After filling out a questionnaire from the Trump transition team he realized the lapse and began paying back taxes and fees. Senate Democrats noted that Republicans had previously insisted that past Democratic nominees' failure to pay taxes for their household employees was disqualifying, including former Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle in 2009.{{cite news|last1=Steinhauer|first1=Jennifer|title=Trump Budget Nominee Did Not Pay Taxes for Employee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/us/politics/mick-mulvaney-taxes.html|work=The New York Times|date=January 18, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Weyl|first1=Ben|last2=Griffiths|first2=Brent|title=Mulvaney defends nanny tax lapse, tangles with Democrats on budget|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/mick-mulvaney-tax-lapse-confirmation-hearing-234111|work=Politico|date=January 24, 2017}}

On February 16, 2017, the Senate confirmed Mulvaney, 51–49, with Senator John McCain of Arizona joining all 48 Democrats to vote against his nomination.{{cite news |last1=Berman|first1=Russell|title=The Donald Trump Cabinet Tracker|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-cabinet-tracker/510527/|work=The Atlantic|date=February 16, 2017}} Democrats opposed his nomination because of his past efforts to slash budgets, as well as his role in government shutdowns.{{Cite news|first1=Jeff|last1=Stein|first2=Annie|last2=Linskey|first3=Seung Min|last3=Kim|date=November 30, 2020|title=Biden's pick to lead White House budget office emerges as lightning rod for GOP|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/11/30/biden-omb-neera-tanden/}}

During his tenure as OMB director, Mulvaney sought to influence Trump to cut Social Security and Medicare. When he introduced himself to Gary Cohn, who was then Trump's chief economic advisor, Mulvaney said, "Hi, I'm a right-wing nutjob." While Mulvaney was known for his professed support for fiscal conservatism as a congressman, under Mulvaney's tenure as OMB director there was a dramatic expansion in the deficit as a result of both spending increases and tax cuts. The deficits were unusually high for a period of economic expansion.

In March 2017, Mulvaney said he believed that "the Obama administration was manipulating the numbers, in terms of the number of people in the workforce, to make the unemployment rate—that percentage rate—look smaller than it actually was," and that "[w]hat you should really look at is the number of jobs created."{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/03/12/news/economy/mick-mulvaney-obama-jobs-data/index.html|title=Trump's budget director claims Obama was 'manipulating' jobs data|last=Disis|first=Jill |date=March 12, 2017|website=CNN Money|access-date=March 12, 2017}} There is no evidence that jobs numbers under the Obama administration were manipulated.{{Cite web |url=http://www.factcheck.org/2017/03/no-evidence-jobs-data-was-manipulated/|title=No Evidence Jobs Data was 'Manipulated' |website=www.factcheck.org|language=en-US|access-date=March 19, 2017|date=March 13, 2017}} FiveThirtyEight{{'}}s Ben Casselman noted that "manipulating the jobs figures{{nbsp}}... would mean not just messing with one number but rather interfering with an entire ecosystem of statistics [and] would require a conspiracy theory of massive proportions, involving hundreds if not thousands of people."{{Cite news|first=Ben|last=Casselman|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-white-house-takes-its-attacks-on-jobs-data-to-a-new-and-dangerous-level/|title=The White House Takes Its Attacks On Jobs Data To A New (And Dangerous) Level|date=March 13, 2017 |work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=March 14, 2017}}

In March 2017, Mulvaney said the Congressional Budget Office was not capable of assessing the American Health Care Act, stating that "[i]f the CBO was right about Obamacare to begin with, there'd be eight million more people on Obamacare today than there actually are."{{Cite news|first=Alison|last=Graves|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/mar/12/mick-mulvaney/fact-checking-white-house-attack-nonpartisan-cbos-/|title=Can you trust the CBO? Trump White House says no|work=PolitiFact|date=March 12, 2017|access-date=March 13, 2017}} According to FactCheck.Org, "[t]he CBO actually nailed the overall impact of the law on the uninsured pretty closely{{nbsp}}... It's true (as Trump administration officials have repeatedly pointed out) that CBO greatly overestimated the number who would get government-subsidized coverage through the new insurance exchanges. But at the same time, CBO underestimated the number who would get coverage through expanding Medicaid. And whatever the failings of CBO's predictions, they were closer to the mark than those of the Obama administration and some other prominent forecasters."{{Cite news |first=Brooks|last=Jackson|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/14/fact-check-how-accurate-were-cbos-obamacare-predictions/99157846/|title=Fact check: How accurate were CBO's Obamacare predictions?|work=USA Today|date=March 14, 2017|access-date=March 14, 2017 |language=en}} PolitiFact noted that "the initial CBO analysis of the Affordable Care Act did forecast that more people would participate in health care exchanges than actually did, but the CBO has revised those estimates. Moreover, independent analyses, as well as experts agree that the CBO offers some of the best estimates given the information available at the time."

In May 2017, Mulvaney was critical of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) after it estimated the version of the American Health Care Act passed by the house in May 2017 would result in 23 million fewer people with health insurance. Mulvaney said the CBO's assessment was "absurd" and that "the days of relying on some nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to do that work for us has probably come and gone."{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/mick-mulvaney-the-day-of-the-cbo-has-probably-come-and-gone/article/2624609|title=Mick Mulvaney: The day of the CBO 'has probably come and gone'|last=Klein|first=Philip|work=The Washington Examiner|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=May 31, 2017}}

While promoting the Trump administration's budget proposal in March 2017, Mulvaney said that, as to taxpayers, the government was "not gonna ask you for your hard-earned money, anymore{{Spaces}}... unless we can guarantee to you that that money is actually being used in a proper function."{{Cite news|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/white-house-says-cutting-meals-on-wheels-is-compassionate.html|title=White House Says Cutting Meals on Wheels Is 'Compassionate'|last=Levitz|first=Eric|work=Intelligencer |date=March 16, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2017|language=en}} For instance, Mulvaney justified cuts to block grants that go towards spending on Meals on Wheels because it was "just not showing any results".{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/16/trump-budget-chief-says-meals-on-wheels-is-not-showing-any-results-hes-wrong/|first=Christopher|last=Ingraham|date=March 16, 2017| title=Analysis {{!}} Meals on Wheels is 'not showing any results' only if you ignore all these results|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 17, 2017}}{{Cite news|first=Polly|last=Mosendz|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-17/budget-cuts-to-meals-on-wheels-could-hurt-veterans-raise-health-care-costs|title=Trump's Cuts to Meals on Wheels Could Hurt Veterans, Raise Health-Care Costs|date=March 17, 2017|work=Bloomberg News|access-date=March 17, 2017}} Others disagreed with Mulvaney's statement, citing research that has "found home-delivered meal programs to significantly improve diet quality, increase nutrient intakes, and reduce food insecurity and nutritional risk among participants. Other beneficial outcomes include increased socialization opportunities, improvement in dietary adherence, and higher quality of life."{{Cite journal|last1=Zhu |first1=Huichen |last2=An|first2=Ruopeng|date=April 1, 2013|title=Impact of home-delivered meal programs on diet and nutrition among older adults: a review|journal=Nutrition and Health|volume=22|issue=2|pages=89–103|doi=10.1177/0260106014537146|issn=0260-1060|pmid=24916974|s2cid=24395845 }}

On May 22, 2017, Mulvaney presented Trump's $4.1 trillion 2018 United States federal budget. The budget included cuts to the United States Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the social safety net and increases in funding for defense spending and paid family leave. The "America First" budget included a 10.6% decrease in domestic program spending and a 10% increase in military spending, in addition to $1.6 billion for a border wall.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/trump-budget-cuts.html|title=Budget Proposal Curtails Efforts Against Poverty - $4.1 Trillion Wish List – Tax Cuts and Security Spending Based on Unlikely Growth|date=May 23, 2017 |work=The New York Times|page=A1|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|access-date=May 24, 2017}} The budget would remove $272 billion from welfare programs, including $272 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. The budget would also remove $800 billion from Medicaid, and $72 billion from Social Security disability benefits, while removing nothing from Social Security retirement or Medicare benefits. Mulvaney projected the budget will not add to the federal deficit because future tax cuts will lead to 3% GDP growth. He described the budget as "the first time in a long time that an administration has written a budget through the eyes of the people who are actually paying the taxes."{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/the-trump-budget-is-the-mulvaney-budget/527700/|title=The Mick Mulvaney Budget Hits the Hill|date=May 23, 2017|magazine=The Atlantic|last1=Berman|first1=Russell|access-date=May 23, 2017}}

In December 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation forecasted that with dynamic scoring, the $1.5 trillion reduction in revenues will increase the federal deficit by $1 trillion.{{cite news|last1=Patel|first1=Jugal K.|title=The Senate's Official Scorekeeper Says the Republican Tax Plan Would Add $1 Trillion to the Deficit|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/us/politics/tax-bill-deficits.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=November 28, 2017}} Regulatory implementation of the tax cuts have been delayed by a dispute between Mulvaney and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin regarding the involvement of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.{{cite news|last1=Rappeport|first1=Alan|last2=Tankersley|first2=Jim|title=White House Turf Battle Threatens to Delay Tax Law Rollout|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/us/politics/tax-law-regulations-omb-treasury.html|access-date=April 4, 2018 |work=The New York Times|date=April 4, 2018|page=B1}}

In February 2018, Mulvaney released the President's $4.4 trillion 2019 United States federal budget, which would add $984 billion to the federal deficit that year, and $7 trillion over the next 10 years.{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld |title=White House Proposes $4.4 Trillion Budget That Adds $7 Trillion to Deficits |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/us/politics/white-house-budget-congress.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=February 13, 2018|page=A1}} Later that month, the President signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which allowed yearly federal deficits to reach $1 trillion.{{cite news|last1=Rappeport|first1=Alan|last2=Landler|first2=Mark|title=With New Budget Deal, Trump Surrenders to the Administrative State|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/politics/trump-budget-deal-administrative-state.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2018|page=A12}} In March 2018, Congress ultimately passed the $1.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which funded the government's operations until the end of the fiscal year in September.{{cite news|last1=Kaplan|first1=Thomas|title=Congress Approves $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill, Averting a Shutdown|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/us/politics/house-passes-spending-bill.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=March 23, 2018|page=A20|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812204032/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/us/politics/house-passes-spending-bill.html|url-status=dead}}

On April 28, 2017, Walter Shaub, the director of the United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a data request to see the ethics waivers given to ex-lobbyists in the executive branch, which Mulvaney refused, writing a letter that seemed to question OGE's authority to collect ethics records.{{cite news |author-link1=Eric Lipton |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |title=White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/trump-white-house-government-ethics-lobbyists.html |access-date=May 24, 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=May 23, 2017 |page=A1}} On May 22, Shaub sent Mulvaney, in addition to every federal ethics officer, every inspector general, and the six members of Congress responsible for government oversight, a 10-page response reasserting his legal authority to see the ethics waivers. On May 26, Mulvaney sent a second letter denying that his first letter had questioned OGE's authority, and providing the information requested.{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Matea |title=White House Relents in Fight with Ethics Office over Waiver Disclosure |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/27/white-house-relents-in-fight-with-ethics-office-over-waiver-disclosure/ |access-date=January 16, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 27, 2017}} Thereafter, on May 30, the White House complied with Shaub's data call by posting its waivers online.{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Matea |title=White House grants ethics waivers to 17 appointees, including four former lobbyists |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/31/white-house-grants-ethics-waivers-to-17-appointees-including-four-former-lobbyists/ |access-date=16 January 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=31 May 2017}} On August 1, Senators Chuck Grassley, Dianne Feinstein, and Gary Peters sent a bipartisan letter to Mulvaney demanding that the White House continue releasing its waivers on a continuing basis.{{cite press release |last1=Feinstein |first1=Dianne |title=Feinstein, Peters, Grassley Call for Increased Transparency in Administration Ethics Disclosures |url=https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=309EB4B1-969B-4A11-99BB-19754AC7C763 |website=US Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein |publisher=US Senate |date=August 1, 2017|access-date=16 January 2018}} On September 21, OGE's acting director, David Apol, issued a memorandum declaring that the White House would comply with this congressional request.{{cite web |title=Posting of Waivers Issued under Executive Order 13770 |url=https://oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/Program%20Management%20Advisories/542CDE60E64F07D0852581A20057DCCC/$FILE/PA-17-05%20Posting%20of%20Waivers%20Issued%20under%20Executive%20Order%2013770.pdf?open |website=US OGE |access-date=16 January 2018 |archive-date=April 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411145321/https://www.oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/Program%20Management%20Advisories/542CDE60E64F07D0852581A20057DCCC/$FILE/PA-17-05%20Posting%20of%20Waivers%20Issued%20under%20Executive%20Order%2013770.pdf?open |url-status=dead }} On October 19, the White House released a second batch of waivers on its website.{{cite web |title=List of Ethics Waivers Issued as of October 19, 2017 |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/disclosures/ |website=White House |access-date=16 January 2018}}

In a press briefing on May 2, 2017, Mulvaney said a "good shutdown" of the federal government might be necessary in September. He defined such a situation as one "that fixes Washington, D.C. permanently".{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/mulvaney-defines-a-good-shutdown/2017/05/02/b67f64e6-2f6b-11e7-a335-fa0ae1940305_video.html |title=Mulvaney defines a "good" shutdown |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Reuters |date=May 2, 2017 |access-date=May 3, 2017}} In the same conference call to reporters, Mulvaney defended a funding package which contained no funds for Trump's proposed border wall. The call became infamous after being plagued with technical problems and interruptions.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-budget-call-devolves-into-chaos/ |title=White House budget call devolves into chaos |work=CBS News |first=Jacqueline |last=Alemany |date=May 2, 2017 |access-date=December 16, 2018}}

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had encouraged President Donald Trump to replace Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray.{{cite news|last1=Rappeport|first1=Alan|title=Payday Rules Relax on Trump's Watch After Lobbying by Lenders|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/us/politics/payday-lenders-lobbying-regulations.html |access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=February 5, 2018|page=A1}} As a congressman, Mulvaney had been a strong critic of the CFPB, calling it a "sick, sad" joke, and co-sponsoring legislation for its elimination.{{cite news|last1=Stewart |first1=Emily|last2=Kirby|first2=Jen|title=Judge rules Mick Mulvaney is in charge of the CFPB, for now|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/27/16704796/cfpb-english-mulvaney-trump-cordray|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=Vox|date=November 28, 2017}} Trump appointed Mulvaney to serve as acting director of the CFPB under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), which allows for the president to appoint an interim replacement without Senate confirmation. However, a dispute arose over whether Mulvaney can be so-named under the FVRA or whether a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act controls, which would make the deputy director, Leandra English, acting director of the CFPB instead. This led to a court battle, English v. Trump. On November 28, 2017, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly denied English's motion for a preliminary injunction and allowed Mulvaney to continue serving as CFPB acting director.{{cite news|last1=Rogers|first1=Katie|last2=Bernard|first2=Tara Siegel|title=President Wins Round in the Battle for the Consumer Bureau|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/us/politics/mick-mulvaney-leandra-english-consumer-bureau.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=November 29, 2017|page=A16}}

According to an April 2019 review of Mulvaney's tenure as CFPB head by The New York Times, Mulvaney had undermined the enforcement and regulatory powers of the bureau.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/magazine/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-trump.html|title=Mick Mulvaney's Master Class in Destroying a Bureaucracy From Within|last=Confessore|first=Nicholas|date=April 16, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 27, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} What was "perhaps Washington's most feared financial regulator" had through "strategic neglect and bureaucratic self-sabotage" begun to work against the very interests it was created to defend. Mulvaney immediately stopped hiring at the CFPB, stopped collecting fines, suspended rulemaking, and ordered all active investigations reviewed.{{cite news|last1=Silver-Greenberg|first1=Jessica|last2=Cowley|first2=Stacy|title=Consumer Bureau's New Leader Steers a Sudden Reversal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/business/cfpb-mick-mulvaney.html|access-date=April 4, 2018 |work=The New York Times|date=December 6, 2017|page=B1}} Mulvaney also sharply reduced agency personnel's access to bank data, arguing that it posed a security risk. On January 18, 2018, Mulvaney submitted a quarterly budget request for the CFPB to the Federal Reserve for $0.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cfpb-requests-0-budget-will-draw-down-reserves-instead-1516291949 |title=CFPB Requests $0 Budget, Will Draw Down Reserves Instead |last=Hayashi |first=Yuka |date=January 18, 2018 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal|access-date=January 18, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Cowley|first1=Stacy|title=Consumer Watchdog's Latest Budget Request: $0|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/business/cfpb-mick-mulvaney.html|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=January 19, 2018|page=B8}}

In January 2018, Mulvaney canceled an investigation into a South Carolina payday lender who had previously donated to his congressional campaigns. He also dropped a lawsuit the CFPB was pursuing against an online lender the bureau had found was charging 950% interest.{{cite news|last1=Arnold|first1=Chris|title=Trump Administration Plans To Defang Consumer Protection Watchdog|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/584980698/trump-administration-to-defang-consumer-protection-watchdog |access-date=April 4, 2018|work=Morning Edition|publisher=NPR|date=February 12, 2018|language=en}} Mulvaney suspended a short-term payday loan regulation.{{cite news|last1=Arnold|first1=Chris|title=Under Trump Appointee, Consumer Protection Agency Seen Helping Payday Lenders|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/24/579961808/under-trump-appointee-consumer-protection-agency-seen-helping-payday-lenders|access-date=April 4, 2018|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|date=January 24, 2018|language=en}} In addition to payday lenders, Mulvaney also scaled back efforts to go after auto lenders and others accused of preying on vulnerable consumers. By April 2018, more than four months after taking charge of the CFPB, Mulvaney had not undertaken a single enforcement action against finance companies; the previous CFPB director, Richard Cordray, averaged two to four enforcement actions per month. Mulvaney accepted nearly $63,000 in donations by payday lenders while he was a congressman.

In April 2018, Mulvaney submitted the CFPB's annual report to Congress, in which he recommended the bureau's funding should be made to require congressional appropriations, that its future rulemaking should require legislative approval, and that he, the director, should be made removable without cause by the President.{{cite news|last1=Rappeport|first1=Alan|title=Mick Mulvaney, Consumer Bureau's Chief, Urges Congress to Cripple Agency|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/us/politics/cfpb-mick-mulvaney.html |access-date=April 4, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=April 3, 2018|page=A10}}

The Community Financial Services Association of America, a trade association representing the payday lending industry, praised Mulvaney's approach, calling it "relatively passive".

In April 2018, it was reported that Mulvaney had given some of his political appointees at the CFPB raises.{{Cite news |first=Ken|last=Sweet|url=https://apnews.com/9161730e4a1a4901a691c71bbcaaf56d|title=Mulvaney gives big pay bumps to his hires at consumer agency|work=AP News|date=April 5, 2018|access-date=April 9, 2018|language=en-US}} Mulvaney hired at least eight appointees after he took over the agency and created positions for some the appointees which did not exist under Cordray's tenure at the CFPB.

In April 2018, Mulvaney said he would shut down public access to the CFPB's online database of consumer complaints where consumers could post complaints and the CFPB used to guide its investigations. Mulvaney said, "I don't see anything in here that says I have to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government." As the database was mandated by law, it could not be shut down, only closed to the public.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/08/mick-mulvaney-does-not-want-you-to-see-complaints-against-banks-that-bankrolled-his-campaigns-report-says/|title=Mick Mulvaney does not want you to see complaints against banks that bankrolled his campaigns, report says|last=Merle|first=Renae|date=May 8, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 9, 2018|issn=0190-8286}} A review of Mulvaney's campaign contributions as a congressman showed that eight of the 10 firms with the most complaints about them had contributed to Mulvaney's campaigns. Under Mulvaney's successor, Kathy Kraninger, the proposal to keep complaints secret from public access was reversed, though corporations would be allowed space to respond to complaints on the CFPB's website, and the implementation of various changes to the way the complaints and enforcement actions would be presented, could present the subjects of complaints in a more favorable light.{{cite news|first=Michelle|last=Singletary|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/keeping-the-consumer-protection-complaints-database-public-is-a-big-win-for-consumers/2019/09/19/fcf1ff8a-db1a-11e9-ac63-3016711543fe_story.html|title=Keeping the Consumer Protection complaints database public is a big win for consumers|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 20, 2019|access-date=October 18, 2019}}

Under Mulvaney, at the same time publicly announced Bureau enforcement actions dropped to a quarter of their previous annual averages, consumer complaints rose substantially.{{cite news|first1=Robert Jr. |last1=O'Harrow|first2=Shawn|last2=Boburg|first3=Renae|last3=Merle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/how-trump-appointees-curbed-a-consumer-protection-agency-loathed-by-the-gop/2018/12/04/3cb6cd56-de20-11e8-aa33-53bad9a881e8_story.html|title=How Trump appointees curbed a consumer protection agency loathed by the GOP|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 4, 2018|access-date=October 18, 2019}}

In April 2018, Mulvaney announced a $1 billion fine against Wells Fargo for fraudulent practices. The case against Wells Fargo started prior to Mulvaney's tenure, and there were reports that Mulvaney considered dropping the case. Amid this reporting, Trump warned that the bank would be fined.{{Cite news|first1=Glenn|last1=Thrush|first2=Alan|last2=Rappeport|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/us/mick-mulvaney-budget-director-consumer-bureau.html|title='Like a Mosquito in a Nudist Colony': How Mick Mulvaney Found Plenty to Target at Consumer Bureau|date=May 7, 2018 |work=The New York Times|access-date=May 9, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

In May 2018, The New York Times reported that Mulvaney worked two to three days a week at the CFPB, a few hours at a time.

In August 2018, it was reported that Mulvaney was considering rolling back oversight of military lenders. The Military Lending Act was devised to protect military service members and their families from financial fraud, predatory loans and credit card gouging.{{Cite news |first=Glenn|last=Thrush|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/us/politics/mulvaney-military-lending.html|title=Mulvaney Looks to Weaken Oversight of Military Lending|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 10, 2018|access-date=August 13, 2018|language=en}}

File:Press Briefing with Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (48915293661) (cropped).jpg

On December 14, 2018, Trump named Mulvaney as his acting White House chief of staff beginning in the new year.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/14/mick-mulvaney-acting-white-house-chief-of-staff?CMP=twt_gu|title=Mick Mulvaney named as acting White House chief of staff|newspaper=The Guardian|date=December 14, 2018|first=David|last=Smith|access-date=December 15, 2018 }} Prior to Trump's election, Mulvaney had characterized the future president as a "terrible human being,"{{Cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-next-chief-of-staff-called-him-a-terrible-human-being-just-before-he-was-elected-president |title=Trump's Next Chief of Staff Called Him 'A Terrible Human Being' Just Before He Was Elected President |last1=Kucinich |first1=Jackie |last2=Suebsaeng |first2=Asawin |date=December 14, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=December 15, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/15/mick-mulvaney-donald-trump-video-terrible-human|title=Video shows Trump's next chief of staff calling him 'terrible human being'|first=Oliver|last=Milman|date=December 15, 2018 |access-date=December 15, 2018|newspaper=The Guardian }} said he would be disqualified from office in an "ordinary universe,"{{Cite news|first=Andrew|last=Kaczynski|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/17/politics/kfile-mick-mulvaney-october-2016-interview/index.html|title=Mick Mulvaney in October 2016: Trump would be disqualified from office in an 'ordinary universe'|date=December 17, 2018|work=CNN}} and described Trump's views on a wall on the US-Mexico border as "absurd and almost childish".{{Cite news|first=Andrew|last=Kaczynski|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/21/politics/mulvaney-on-trump-in-2015/index.html|title=Mick Mulvaney in 2015: Trump's views on border wall 'simplistic,' 'absurd and almost childish'|date=December 21, 2018|work=CNN}} On March 6, 2020, President Trump named Congressman Mark Meadows as Mulvaney's replacement.{{cite web|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|last2=Shear|first2=Michael D.|title=Trump Names Mark Meadows Chief of Staff, Ousting Mick Mulvaney|work=The New York Times|date=March 2, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/politics/trump-mark-meadows-mick-mulvaney.html|access-date=March 7, 2020}}

Upon assuming office as chief of staff, Mulvaney appointed several individuals with views similar to his to White House positions,{{cite web| last1=Cook | first1=Nancy | last2=Cancryn | first2=Adam | title='Acting' in name only: Mulvaney staffs up West Wing | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/11/mick-mulvaney-acting-chief-staff-1098627 | date=January 11, 2019 | website=Politico | access-date=July 23, 2019}}{{cite news | last1=Min Kim | first1=Seung | last2=Rein | first2=Lisa | last3=Dawsey | first3=Josh | last4=Werner | first4=Erica | title='His own fiefdom': Mulvaney builds 'an empire for the right wing' as Trump's chief of staff | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/his-own-fiefdom-mulvaney-builds-an-empire-for-the-right-wing-as-trumps-chief-of-staff/2019/07/14/85c5ebdc-942b-11e9-b570-6416efdc0803_story.html | date=July 14, 2019 | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=July 23, 2019}} most notably Joe Grogan to lead the United States Domestic Policy Council.{{cite news | last1=Cancryn | first1=Adam | last2=Diamond | first2=Dan | title=White House to name Grogan top policy aide | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/22/white-house-grogan-policy-aide-1105122 | date=January 22, 2019 | newspaper=Politico | access-date=July 23, 2019}}{{cite web| last1=Diamond | first1=Dan | last2=Kumar | first2=Anita | last3=Pradhan | first3=Rachana | last4=Cancryn | first4=Adam | title='They're all fighting him': Trump aides spar with health secretary | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/18/alex-azar-health-care-hhs-trump-cabinet-1538651 | date=June 18, 2019 | website=Politico | access-date=July 23, 2019}}{{cite magazine | last1=Plott | first1=Elaina | last2=Nicholas | first2=Peter | title=How a Forgotten White House Team Gained Power in the Trump Era | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/06/trump-domestic-policy-council/592516/ | date=June 27, 2019 | magazine=The Atlantic | access-date=July 23, 2019}}

In March 2019, Mulvaney said, "every single (health care) plan that this White House has ever put forward since Donald Trump was elected covered pre-existing conditions."{{cite web |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/apr/01/mick-mulvaney/republican-pre-existing-protections-leave-some-vul/ |title=Republican pre-existing protections leave some vulnerable |first=Jon |last=Greenberg |date=April 1, 2019 |website=PolitiFact |language=en |access-date=April 3, 2019}} The Associated Press described the claim as "misleading" and PolitiFact rated this assertion "mostly false", stating that all the health care proposals supported by the White House would have weakened protections for individuals with preexisting conditions, and led to gaps in health insurance coverage and higher premium rates.{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/f2b0e24b6e1244a2af3f760ae35dbb94 |title=AP FACT CHECK: Trump's tortured flips on border, health care |last1=Woodward |first1=Calvin |last2=Yen |first2=Hope |date=April 6, 2019 |work=Associated Press |access-date=July 25, 2019}}

On March 6, 2020, Trump tweeted that Republican North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows would succeed Mulvaney as White House chief of staff. Meadows began serving at the end of March, thus replacing Mulvaney.{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Madeline |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/490280-meadows-joins-white-house-in-crisis-mode/ |title=Meadows joins White House in crisis mode |date=March 31, 2020 |work=The Hill|access-date=April 1, 2020 |language=en}}

Mulvaney wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal three days after the November 2020 election day, titled "If He Loses, Trump Will Concede Gracefully: He'll fight hard to make sure the results are fair, and in the end he'll accept the result whatever it is."{{Cite news|last=Mulvaney|first=Mick|date=November 7, 2020|title=If He Loses, Trump Will Concede Gracefully|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/if-he-loses-trump-will-concede-gracefully-11604772109|access-date=January 7, 2021|issn=0099-9660|url-access=subscription}} Trump did not do so after his loss in the 2020 United States presidential election.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

{{main|Trump–Ukraine scandal}}

{{Trump–Ukraine scandal series}}

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October 17, 2019]

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Mulvaney was closely involved in the Trump–Ukraine scandal.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/mulvaney-emerges-as-a-key-facilitator-of-the-campaign-to-pressure-ukraine/2019/10/15/9d46b7ae-ef76-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html |title=Mulvaney emerges as a key facilitator of the campaign to pressure Ukraine |first1=Greg |last1=Miller |first2=Josh |last2=Dawsey |first3=Greg |last3=Jaffe |date=October 16, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/15/politics/george-kent-rudy-giuliani-ukraine-house-testimony/index.html |title=State Department official told to lie low after raising complaints about Giuliani |first1=Jeremy |last1=Herb |first2=Manu |last2=Raju |first3=Lauren |last3=Fox |date=October 15, 2019 |website=CNN}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/us/politics/white-house-review-ukraine.html |title=White House Is Said to Open Internal Review of Ukraine Call |first1=Julian E. |last1=Barnes |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman |first3=Michael S. |last3=Schmidt |date=October 15, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/us/politics/bolton-giuliani-fiona-hill-testimony.html |title=Bolton Objected to Ukraine Pressure Campaign, Calling Giuliani 'a Hand Grenade' |first1=Peter |last1=Baker |first2=Nicholas |last2=Fandos |date=October 14, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/bolton-wanted-white-house-lawyers-alerted-ukrainian-efforts-called-it-n1066141 |title=Bolton called Ukrainian investigation effort a 'drug deal,' witness tells Congress |first1=Josh |last1=Lederman |first2=Phil |last2=Helsel |date=October 14, 2019 |website=NBC News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/14/trumps-russia-aide-impeachment-probe-046652 |title=Trump's former Russia aide met with White House lawyer over Giuliani |first1=Andrew |last1=Desiderio |first2=Kyle |last2=Cheney |date=October 14, 2019 |website=Politico}} In an October 17, 2019, press conference, Mulvaney said that military aid to Ukraine was in fact tied to President Trump's demand for an investigation into the 2016 election.{{YouTube|id=Ns4QwN27P58&t1125s|title=Press Briefing with White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney}} Several hours later, in a statement released by the White House, Mulvaney sought to deny or reinterpret his earlier statements, stating "there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/17/mick-mulvaney-trump-ukraine-quid-pro-quo|title=Mick Mulvaney suggests Trump withheld Ukraine aid in quid pro quo|work=The Guardian|date=2019-10-18|access-date=2019-10-18|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news |first1=Tom|last1=Hamburger |first2=Carol D.|last2=Leonnig |first3=Josh|last3=Dawsey|title=Mulvaney's move to join impeachment testimony lawsuit rankles Bolton allies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mulvaneys-move-to-join-impeachment-testimony-lawsuit-rankles-bolton-allies/2019/11/10/06f3553a-0332-11ea-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 10, 2019|access-date=November 11, 2019 |language=en|df=mdy-all}}

On January 22, 2020, Mulvaney released a series of heavily redacted Office of Management and Budget (OMB) emails revealing details about how the OMB worked to carry out the freeze of aid for Ukraine.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/politics/ukraine-aid.html|title=Emails Show Budget Office Working to Carry Out Ukraine Aid Freeze|work=The New York Times |date=February 20, 2020 |first=Eric|last=Lipton|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news |first=Justin|last=Wise|title=Trump admin releases trove of documents on Ukrainian military aid |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/479311-trump-admin-releases-trove-of-documents-on-ukrainian-military-aid/ |access-date=March 7, 2020 |work=The Hill |date=January 22, 2020 }}

In February 2020, Mulvaney alleged that claims of a deep state working against President Trump were "absolutely 100% true."{{Cite web|title=Mick Mulvaney said the deep state is '100% true,' and government officials should obey Trump or quit|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mulvaney-says-deep-state-is-real-and-govt-officials-should-obey-trump-2020-2|work=Business Insider|date=February 20, 2020|first=Tom|last=Porter|access-date=April 3, 2022}} Later that month, Mulvaney suggested that the media was exaggerating the dangers of COVID-19 in order to "bring down" President Trump.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-chief-of-staff-mick-mulvaney-says-coronavirus-coverage-is-an-attempt-to-bring-down-the-president|title=Mick Mulvaney: Media Is Exaggerating Coronavirus Coverage to 'Bring Down the President'|last=Melendez|first=Pilar|date=February 28, 2020|website=The Daily Beast|language=en|access-date=March 9, 2020}}

Upon his resignation as chief of staff, Mulvaney was named special envoy for Northern Ireland, a role which had last been held by Gary Hart, but had gone unfilled since Trump's inauguration. His swearing-in was delayed due to the coronavirus epidemic, which also prevented him from making a planned trip to Northern Ireland as envoy in July 2020.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Because of social distancing restrictions, he was sworn in via a FaceTime call on May 1, 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0505/1136670-new-us-special-envoy-to-northern-ireland-sworn-in/|title=New US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland sworn in|website=RTE|date=May 6, 2020|author=O'Donovan, Brien|publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|location=Dublin, Ireland}}

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Mulvaney which argued that Trump would concede if he lost the election; after Joe Biden won the election and Trump did not concede, Politico named Mulvaney's prediction one of "the most audacious, confident and spectacularly incorrect prognostications about the year."{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/29/worst-predictions-about-2020-451444|title=The Worst Predictions of 2020|date=December 29, 2020|access-date=December 30, 2020|work=Politico|first=Zack|last=Stanton}}

Mulvaney resigned his position as special envoy on the evening of January 6, 2021, following the U.S. Capitol protests in which a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building to protest the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.{{cite web|first1=Kaitlan|last1=Collins|first2=Vivian|last2=Salama|first3=Jake|last3=Tapper|author-link3=Jake Tapper|first4=Kylie|last4=Atwood|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/national-security-adviser-resigns-trump-protest/index.html|title=Trump's deputy national security adviser resigns as other top officials consider quitting over Capitol riot|work=CNN|date=January 6, 2021|access-date=January 7, 2021}} The next morning, Mulvaney told a CNBC reporter that his resignation had been principled: "We didn't sign up for what you saw last night. We signed up for making America great again, we signed up for lower taxes and less regulation." He added that Trump was "not the same as he was eight months ago." He suggested that other administration officials also planned to resign, while others planned to stay only to prevent Trump from filling their position with "someone worse" during his last two weeks in office.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/533080-mick-mulvaney-resigns-from-trump-administration-i-cant-stay-here/ |title=Mick Mulvaney resigns from Trump administration: 'I can't stay here' |date=January 7, 2021 |work=The Hill |first=Jordan |last=Williams |access-date=January 7, 2021 }}

In 2021, Mulvaney was mentioned as a possible replacement for Kay Coles James as president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.{{Cite web|title=Heritage Seeks New Leader as James Plans to Step Down {{!}} RealClearPolitics|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/03/23/heritage_seeks_new_leader_as_james_plans_to_step_down_145456.html|access-date=2021-10-12|website=www.realclearpolitics.com}}

In March 2022, CBS News hired Mulvaney as a paid on-air contributor. CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani said that the choice was part of a conscious effort to hire more Republican commentators: "Being able to make sure that we are getting access to both sides of the aisle is a priority because we know the Republicans are going to take over, most likely, in the midterms." The Washington Post reported that the decision was controversial among network employees, due to Mulvaney's history within the Trump administration and its adversarial attitude towards the news media.

Mulvaney is a Roman Catholic.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/rep_mick_mulvaney_.html|title=Arena Profile: Rep. Mick Mulvaney|publisher=The Arena|access-date=March 16, 2017}} He married Pamela West, whom he met in line at a bookstore while he was a law student, in 1998.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/22/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-mick-mulvaney|title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Mick Mulvaney|publisher=US News|date=February 22, 2011|author=Huey-Burns, Caitlin}} The couple have triplets (born in 2000), named Finn, James, and Caroline.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/politics/irish-american-to-be-trump-s-budget-director|title=Irish American Mick Mulvaney to be Trump's Budget Director|date=December 22, 2016|publisher=IrishCentral |author=Wilson, James}}

Mulvaney's brother, Ted, is portfolio manager for Braeburn Capital, the investment arm of Apple Inc.{{cite web|title=White House Says No Conflict of Interest with Mulvaney and Apple {{!}} TYT Network |url=https://tytnetwork.com/2017/11/19/white-house-says-no-conflict-of-interest-with-mulvaney-and-apple/ |website=tytnetwork.com |access-date=December 11, 2017|date=November 20, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Garside |first1=Juliette|title=Apple's investment manager wrestles with $120bn problem |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/oct/26/apple-investment-manager-braeburn-capital|newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=December 11, 2017|date=October 26, 2012}}

• Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2019–2020)

{{Notelist}}

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• [https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/people/mick-mulvaney/ Profile] at Office of Management and Budget

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