House Conservatives are trying to play it cool after House Freedom Caucus member Rep. John M. “Mick” Mulvaney (R.-S.C.) met with President-elect Donald J. Trump Monday about his leading Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, one of the most powerful positions in the White House and the federal bureaucracy.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R.-Calif.) told Breitbart News: “Mick is whip-smart and has been deeply involved in the budget process to establish a more effective and accountable government. He’d be terrific for the job.”
A Republican congressman, who asked not to be identified for this story, told Breitbart News Mulvaney had an excellent interview at Trump Tower and everyone is just standing by.
Another Capitol Hill source told Breitbart News Mulvaney’s meeting with the president-elect was short and businesslike, but when Mulvaney met with the most senior members of Trump’s team, the meeting went longer than an hour and became an in-depth conversation about the federal budget process and how to take on the federal bureaucracy. Taming regulation and the federal bureaucracy are stated priorities of the president-elect.
Through a spokesman, Mulvaney declined to speak to Breitbart News, citing his desire to keep his dealings with the presidential transition team confidential.
Mulvaney may be reluctant to speak, but his colleagues eagerly shared their enthusiasm for his intelligence, work ethic, and commitment to the conservative agenda.
Another member of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Timothy A. Huelskamp (R.-Kansas), who said he spoke to the Trump team about being the head of the Agriculture Department, told Breitbart News Mulvaney understands the realities of the federal budget. “The old saying is that a vision without funding is an illusion–Mick understands that.”
The Kansas congressman, who lost his August primary to a challenger backed by leadership, said Mulvaney would bring another dimension to the job. “They say I’m an &ssh@le, well, he’s an &ssh@le, which is what you need in that job.”
Chairman of the House Rules Committee Rep. Peter A. “Pete” Sessions (R.-Texas) said he admires the graduate of Georgetown University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s law school.
“Mick Mulvaney is a very disciplined, thoughtful, artful guy, who has exhibited his intellect and desire for service well beyond being a member of Congress,” Sessions said.
Trump would be making the right choice if he brought Mulvaney into his White House to run OMB, Sessions said, adding:
I have known several heads of OMB’s, up to and including one of my very dear friends, Jimmy Nussle, and one of my friends, who is Rob Portman, who served over and around there–I just want you to know, Mick Mulvaney will bring not only conservative credentials, but he’ll bring hard work and being a smart guy–we will miss him tremendously, but the advantage would be to the American public and confidence that he would bring to an important job.
In addition to overseeing the development and presentation of the president’s budget proposal to Congress and the monitoring of budget trends, the OMB director has go-no-go authority over all federal regulations on behalf of the president.
The first Navy SEAL to serve in Congress, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R.-Mont.), told Breitbart News OMB needs to be reformed–or as he put it: “OMB? It needs to be taken out and beat up and Mick is just the perfect guy for that because he is relentless and he is a strong conservative–OMB is part of the problem.”
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