Although acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney probably won’t get a pat on the back from President Trump, his White House colleagues are showing their support.
Two senior White House officials told CNN that Mulvaney’s colleagues applauded him at a senior staff meeting early Monday after he admitted to having a “tough week” following his messy attempt to clean up his quid pro quo admission of withholding aid to Ukraine last week.
The same officials added that they viewed the round of applause during the meeting as a show of support for Mulvaney in the wake of the backlash he has faced over his stunning admission.
CNN noted that the staff meeting happened amid reports that Trump and some of his allies have grown increasingly frustrated with Mulvaney’s fraught clean-up attempts. The New York Times also reported Monday that Trump was so displeased with his acting chief of staff after his disastrous press conference last Thursday when he wholly supported Trump’s initial plan to host the G-7 summit at his Doral resort — which the President reversed two days later — that it compelled him to reach out to Nick Ayers, former aide to Vice President Mike Pence.
According to a CNN report Sunday, top White House officials were actively looking to give Mulvaney the boot before House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
