The grandson of immigrants from County Mayo is set to be Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff arguably the second most important job in Washington.
President Trump's current budget director Mick Mulvaney has been announced as the acting Chief of Staff, taking on one of the most important jobs in the federal government and replacing another Irish American, General John Kelly.
Mulvaney has been the Irish government's go-to man in the White House since Trump took over and Mulvaney became head of the Office of Management and Budget. He is very involved in the E3 visa issue which would allow about 5,000 work visas a year to Ireland in return for reciprocal visas for Americans to visit Ireland.
With the E3 visas in the balance, Mulvaney's new powerful position could help sway outstanding Republicans to pass the visa program.
Mulvaney has been active on Irish issues since coming to Congress. in 2010. He first came to prominence after meeting Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform President Ciaran Staunton and became deeply involved in Irish issues after that.
He has a daughter studying in Trinity College Dublin and is a frequent visitor to the Irish Embassy. He and his wife Pamela West married in 1998. They have triplets, Finn, James and Caroline.
"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!" Trump tweeted.
Mulvaney grew up in Charlotte, NC before moving to Indian Land, SC. He attended Georgetown University, from where he graduated with a degree in International Economics, Commerce and Finance, followed by a law degree from the University of North Carolina.
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
He served in the state legislature before being elected to Congress in the 2010 GOP wave. His victory margin was in the double digits, which surprised many because the district had not sent a Republican to Washington since the 1880s.
In Congress, he was on the right-wing of his party and joined the Tea Party and Freedom caucuses of the GOP.
He replaces John Kelly, who President Trump last week announced would be leaving the position at the end of the year. The role had already been offered to Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Nick Ayers but he refused the two-year commitment.
Do you think Mulvaney will make a good chief of staff? Let us know in the comments section, below.
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