Sophia Michaels
In a classic Friday night news dump, President Trump announced that he is replacing the acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney with Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows.
Mulvaney held the position for 14 months and will now serve as the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland. Meadows, who announced in December that he will not seek re-election, will become Trump’s fourth chief of staff.
Trump delivered the news as he almost always does, via Twitter, writing, “I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff. I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one. I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having served the Administration so well. He will become the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Thank you!”
Meadows, who has been a strong Trump ally, released a statement thanking and heaping on praise on both the president and Mulvaney, “It’s an honor to be selected by President Trump to serve alongside him and his team,” Meadows statement said. “This President and his administration have a long list of incredible victories they’ve delivered to the country during this first term, with the best yet to come—and I look forward to helping build on that success and staying in the fight for the forgotten men and women of America.”
“In particular, I want to recognize my friend Mick Mulvaney,” Meadows continued. “Mick is smart, principled, and as tough a fighter you’ll find in Washington, D.C. He did a great job leading the President’s team through a tremendous period of accomplishment over the last year plus.”
Some see the ouster as a continuation of Trump ridding his administration of anyone who was against him during the impeachment process, or in Mulvaney’s case, who did not help matters.
Mulvaney’s role in Trump’s administration was marginalized after his now-infamous “get over it” October press conference where he confessed that the president did indeed attempt to engage in a quid pro quo with the Ukraine president in order to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.
Trump seeing a need for a major shake-up in the upper echelon of administration while dealing with the coronavirus crisis is telling. No matter the circumstances, stability seems to never be a consideration when Trump has his mind made up vanish someone.
Featured via: Rollingstone
