President Trump scrambles to find next White House chief of staff. Here's who on the list.
WASHINGTON – After his top choice rejected the job, President Donald Trump scrambled Monday to look for a White House chief of staff from among a wide-open list of potential candidates that includes a prominent member of the current Republican-controlled House.
The list includes at least three already-prominent White House aides: Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director and interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary; and Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative.
Other candidates, officials said, include Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and longtime Trump supporter; Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general; and David Bossie, a deputy campaign manager for Trump's 2016 campaign.
Rep. Mark Meadows, D-N.C., chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, expressed interest in the job, saying that "serving as Chief of Staff would be an incredible honor."
Trump reopened the search after Nick Ayers, the vice president's chief of staff, turned down the White House job Sunday. Trump now looks again for his third chief of staff in less than two years to replace John Kelly, who is stepping down at the end of the month.
Here's some background on each of the candidates being mentioned for Trump's new chief of staff:
David Bossie
Bossie served as Trump’s deputy campaign manager, and has co-written flattering books, including “Trump's Enemies: How The Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency.”
Bossie is the president and chairman of Citizens United, the group whose Supreme Court case in 2010 shifted the landscape of campaign finance.
Bossie has co-produced six feature-length films with former White House aide Steve Bannon, including "Torchbearer," which stars Phil Robertson of the A&E reality series Duck Dynasty, according to his bio on Citizens United.
In June, Bossie drew backlash and had to apologize on Twitter after telling black Democratic strategist Joel Payne "you're out of your cotton-picking mind" while the two were bickering on Fox News.
Chris Christie
The former New Jersey governor has been linked to the Trump staff before. A former U.S. attorney, Christie was considered for vice president by Trump in 2016. Then after being fired as head of Trump's transition team, Christie was passed over for attorney general. Christie also reportedly turned down an appointment as ambassador to Italy and offers to head either Homeland Security or Veteran Affairs.
While governor, Christie implemented a 2 percent cap on municipal spending in an attempt to keep property taxes in check. But there was also controversy. Christie was notably tarred by the Bridgegate scandal, which involved inappropriate closure of the George Washington Bridge that led to arrests and convictions.
After being removed as chairman of Trump’s transition team, Christie said in December 2017 the move was a “big mistake” the country has paid for, according to The Record, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Christie has said he thinks he was ousted because he opposed retired Army Gen. Mike Flynn being named national security adviser. Christie said Flynn’s admission of guilt to special counsel Robert Mueller is an example of the mistakes the Trump administration made by casting him aside.
Robert Lighthizer
Lighthizer indicated he wants to keep his current job as Trump’s top trade negotiator, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, "I'm flattered that the president wants me to be United States trade representative. Working closely with him, I hope to accomplish the goals that he set out for me in that job."
Before working for the Trump administration, Lighthizer was a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he worked more than three decades in international trade law, according to his White House biography.
Lighthizer also served as deputy U.S. trade representative for President Ronald Reagan.
Despite working for foreign governments in the 1980s and 1990s, Lighthizer was allowed to serve in his current post because of a Congressional provision that was tucked away in a 1,665-page spending bill in 2017.
He represented Brazil in an ethanol trade dispute with the United States in 1985, and also helped advise an electronics trade group tied to the Chinese government in 1991.
Rep. Mark Meadows
Meadows is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of roughly 40 hard-line conservatives who are not afraid to break with their party and vote as a bloc to halt legislation.
If Trump is looking for a more political chief of staff to help contend with the new Democratic House of Representatives that comes into power next month, that bodes well for Meadows.
In an interview on Fox News Monday night Meadows wouldn't say definitively if he'd take the job, but he said the role would be an "honor" and he was "favorably inclined to at least have a discussion with the president."
As of Monday night, he said he had not talked to Trump about the role.
The North Carolina Republican has long been a close ally of the president’s and the two talk frequently. In his role on the House Oversight Committee, Meadows has become one of the president’s leading defenders, constantly hammering the FBI and Intelligence community for what he sees as bias against Trump. That could come in handy as the new chief of staff will likely be presiding over a tumultuous time at the White House: Mueller is expected to release the results of a report into Russian interference in the 2016 election in the coming months.
The House Freedom Caucus was the critical force behind the March implosion of the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Repeal and replace has been a core promise of Republicans since the law passed in 2010. Meadows went on to negotiate an amendment that brought the bill further to the right and secured enough votes from conservatives to pass the House. The bill later died in the Senate.
Mick Mulvaney
Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman from South Carolina, heads both the Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
Officials downplayed the chances of either Mnuchin or Lighthizer, noting that both are involved in high-profile trade talks with China, but added that Trump might be able to persuade them to take the job.
Politico reported in July that Mulvaney was under consideration to replace Kelly and that Mulvaney was lobbying for the position.
In a February USA TODAY op-ed, Mulvaney responded to criticism that he was gutting the CFPB. He said the administration was looking for a “lighter regulatory hand.” Under his watch, he said, he shrank the fair lending enforcement and supervision branches of the agency each from two offices to one office each. He said he reconsidered payday lending rules because state regulators told the CFPB that the rules were not necessary as many states had existing regulations on those establishments.
Steven Mnuchin
Steve Mnuchin serves as Trump’s secretary of Treasury, where he’s played a vital role in the trade war with China.
Before heading the treasury, Mnuchin served as finance chairman for Trump's 2016 campaign, and helped develop economic policies and speeches as Trump's senior economic adviser, according to his White House biography.
Mnuchin has also worked at the Goldman Sachs Group, and founded the companies Dune Capital Management and OneWest Bank Group LLC.
Mnuchin has come under fire for reportedly requesting a U.S. Air Force jet to take him and his wife, Louise Linton, around Europe for their honeymoon.
A watchdog group found that Mnuchin racked up nearly $1 million in taxpayer-funded trips that could have been handled through commercial airlines.
Matthew Whitaker
Matthew Whitaker was named acting U.S. attorney general after Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last month, a move that’s been met with criticism from former Justice Department staff.
More than 400 former Justice Department attorneys and staffers called for Whitaker’s removal in a statement last week, claiming that his appointment violated the Constitution because he lacked Senate confirmation required of other Cabinet officials.
The statement, organized by the government watchdog group Protect Democracy, was signed by the Justice alums, many of whom served both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Whitaker's appointment has also been under attack because of his past public statements, which criticized the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. As acting attorney general, Whitaker now oversees special counsel Mueller's investigation.
Before joining the Justice Department under Trump, Whitaker was president and executive director of a nonprofit group, the Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust, known as FACT, where he earned more than $1.2 million, according to the Associated Press.
The AP also reported there’s controversy surrounding whether Whitaker violated federal law because a campaign committee for his failed 2014 U.S. Senate run received $8,800 in donations this year, while he was working as a top Justice Department lawyer.
Contributing: Eliza Collins, Kevin Johnson, Christal Hayes, Fredreka Schouten, Deirdre Shesgreen, Carolyn McAtee Cerbin and Charles Ventura, USA TODAY; Bob Jordan, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, and Dustin Racioppi and Joshua Jongsma, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump scrambles to find next White House chief of staff. Here's who on the list.
