Mick Mulvaney, Ex-White House Chief of Staff, Resigns Diplomatic Post
Mick Mulvaney #MickMulvaney
(Bloomberg) — Mick Mulvaney, former White House chief of staff to President Donald Trump, said Thursday he is resigning from his current post as special envoy to Northern Ireland, joining a growing list of officials departing less than two weeks before the end of Trump’s term.
“I quit because it is the only thing I could do — officially — to express my disapproval of what happened yesterday,” Mulvaney told Bloomberg News.
Mulvaney earlier told CNBC that he called Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and resigned after a violent mob stormed the Capitol and disrupted the counting of Electoral College votes.
Mick Mulvaney
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” he said.
“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in,” Mulvaney added.
In November, Mulvaney had a rosier view of the end of Trump’s tenure. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Mulvaney predicted Trump would leave office gracefully.
“The president will fight like a gladiator until the election is conclusively determined,” he wrote before the race was called.
But, he continued, once a winner is determined, “I have every expectation that Mr. Trump will be, act and speak like a great president should — win or lose.”
Rioters mobbed the Capitol Wednesday after Trump encouraged supporters to object to what historically have been ceremonial proceedings. Lawmakers were forced to evacuate and four people died in the mayhem.
Trump later told supporters in a tweeted video “you have to go home now” but he didn’t condemn the violence.
(Updates with Mulvaney op-ed about transition of power from 6th paragraph)
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