While Trump Practices Benign Neglect, Mulvaney Hammers Cabinet Members

UNITED STATES - APRIL 18: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before a House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing in Rayburn Building on FY2019 Budget for OMB on April 18, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - APRIL 18: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before a House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing in Rayburn Building on the FY201... UNITED STATES - APRIL 18: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before a House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing in Rayburn Building on the FY2019 Budget for OMB on April 18, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) MORE LESS
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Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has quietly built up an infrastructure of influence from his post in the White House, hammering Cabinet secretaries weekly on their plans to strip back regulation from a whole host of areas.

According to the Washington Post, President Donald Trump has mostly turned a blind eye to Mulvaney’s moves, as the acting chief of staff gives the President ample leash to tweet and do what he wants.

Mulvaney reportedly came down particularly hard on ex-Labor Secretary Alex Acosta whose ultimate failure to live up to Mulvaney’s deregulatory standards resulted in lukewarm support from the administration before his resignation under the pall of the Jeffrey Epstein arrest.

Mulvaney does, however, face some congressional blockades as he is widely disliked on both sides of the aisle. Even Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), admit that they’d rather deal with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

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