The Senate Budget Committee held a confirmation hearing Tuesday, January 4, on Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB plays a critical role setting regulatory policy and establishing funding requests for each department, including HUD.
Mr. Mulvaney is likely to be opposed by many Senate Democrats. A founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, Mr. Mulvany helped lead the 2013 shutdown of the federal government and repeatedly voted against raising the nation’s debt ceiling. Mr. Mulvaney has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” and he advocates for privatizing Medicare and significantly raising the retirement age for Medicare and Social Security.
His nomination has also raised concerns among some Republicans, particularly Senator John McCain (R-AZ) who disagrees with Mr. Mulvaney’s position on defense spending. Mr. Mulvaney argues that any increase to the military budget must be accompanied by offsetting cuts to non-defense spending.