Source: NBC News
WASHINGTON — U.S. budget director Mick Mulvaney woke up Friday and headed to the White House expecting to attend a meeting on federal budget issues, according to a source close to him. Instead, by the end of the day, he would — at least temporarily — become President Donald Trump’s third chief of staff.
Trump, who had been rebuffed by at least two potential replacements to outgoing chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, hastily settled on Mulvaney as acting chief after initially refusing vice presidential chief of staff Nick Ayers’ request to serve in a similar interim capacity.
The president made the decision after polling several members of his Cabinet, including at a Thursday evening White House holiday party, according to sources. All of them expressed approval of Mulvaney, also a former congressman.
Trump was also desperate to end the storyline that no one wanted to be his chief of staff, with other individuals reportedly on his short list — including Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina — publicly rejecting the potential job, a source told NBC News. On Friday morning, White House officials eagerly floated the idea that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the front runner, only to have Christie publicly reject…
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