CPR Statement: Rep. Mick Mulvaney Should Not Be Confirmed to Lead the Office of Management and Budget

NEWS RELEASE: Rep. Mick Mulvaney Should Not Be Confirmed to Lead the Office of Management and Budget                                                                                                             

Today, the Senate Committees on Budget and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held confirmation hearings for Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), President Donald Trump's selection for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Mulvaney tried to assuage some of the concerns about his nomination, but his answers attempting to mask his disdain for public protections – combined with his past rhetoric and actions – show that he should not be confirmed. 

Robert Verchick, President of the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), summed up the concerns about Mulvaney. "The Office of Management and Budget serves several key roles within the federal government, including proposing the budgets of protective agencies and overseeing the regulatory process," Verchick said. "As an anti-government ideologue, Rep. Mick Mulvaney is wholly unqualified to serve as director of this powerful office. He has repeatedly questioned the reality of climate change and discounts the crucial roles that government research plays in our society. The Director of OMB must be a person who can ensure the smooth operation of agencies that carry out the difficult task of enforcing our bedrock public health and safety laws, not someone who has voted for misguided legislation that would undermine those laws." 

Verchick continued, "As a member of the House's anti-regulatory, budget-slashing Freedom Caucus, Mulvaney's past actions presage a dark future at OMB, where he would have the power to slash enforcement budgets at EPA, OSHA, and FDA, imperiling our health and safety." 

CPR Executive Director Matthew Shudtz added, "Rep. Mulvaney shared interesting anecdotes and a few numbers – many of which have been thoroughly debunked – about the costs of regulation on polluters and big businesses. He failed to show that he appreciates the benefits of the rules of the road that keep our air and water clean, much less those that protect workers from occupational hazards or wage theft. Talking about the costs of regulation without a thorough accounting of the benefits undercuts the very premise of our government." 

"For these reasons, the Senate should reject Mick Mulvaney as Director of OMB," Verchick concluded. 

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The Center for Progressive Reform is a nonprofit research and educational organization with a network of Member Scholars working to protect health, safety, and the environment through analysis and commentary. Read CPRBlog, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.