Mick Mulvaney

John Michael "Mick" Mulvaney (born July 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 2017 until March 2020, and as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.

Prior to his appointments to the Trump administration, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

At Georgetown, he was an Honors Scholar of the School of Foreign Service, and ultimately graduated with honors in 1989.

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.

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.

Mulvaney was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2006.

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.

Mulvaney, a Republican, served in the South Carolina General Assembly from 2007 to 2011, first in the House of Representatives and then the Senate.

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.

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.

2010

Mulvaney, a GOP Young Gun, ran against Democratic incumbent John M. Spratt Jr. for SC's 5th congressional district.

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.

He served as a U.S. representative for South Carolina's fifth congressional district from 2011 to 2017.

He was nominated as OMB Director by President-elect Donald Trump in December 2016 and confirmed by Senate vote (51–49) on February 16, 2017.

While confirmed as OMB Director, he served as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from November 2017 to December 2018, and as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.

In January 2019, Mulvaney became acting White House Chief of Staff.

In a White House press conference held on October 17, 2019, Mulvaney said the White House had withheld military aid in part until Ukraine investigated an unsubstantiated theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for hacking Democratic Party emails in 2016.

Mark Meadows succeeded Mulvaney as chief of staff.

On January 7, 2021, Mulvaney reported that he resigned the day before as Special Envoy for Northern Ireland following the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

In 2022, Mulvaney was hired as an on-air contributor for CBS News.

His hiring stirred controversy within the company due to his history of promoting Trump's false claims and attacking the press.

He has since joined NewsNation and CNBC as a contributor.

Mulvaney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Mike, a real estate developer, and Kathy Mulvaney, a teacher.

He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He later moved to Indian Land, South Carolina.

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.

After resigning as OMB Director and acting White House Chief of Staff, he served as the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland from March 2020 until January 2021.

Mulvaney was known for his support for fiscal conservatism as a congressman, which included a willingness to shut down the government during Barack Obama's presidency.

However, as OMB Director in the Trump administration, he oversaw an expansion in the deficit.

The deficit increases were a result of both spending increases and tax cuts, and were unusually high for a period of economic expansion.

A staunch opponent of the CFPB while in Congress, Mulvaney's tenure as acting director of the bureau led to a considerable reduction of the bureau's enforcement and regulatory powers.