Trump's Chief of Staff [temp] pick is done

President Trump has picked Mick Mulvaney as "acting" chief of staff as John Kelly will be stepping down.

The President tweeted:

“I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction.” 

 “Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration. I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The president said Kelly, who recently announced plans to leave the White House, will stay through 2018. His departure date has not been announced nor even hinted at, but Trump tweeted again:

“John will be staying until the end of the year.  He is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to personally thank him for his service!”

The president did not say whether Mulvaney will remain as director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also did not detail how long Mulvaney will serve in an “acting” capacity. It could be weeks, months or years.

Mulvaney, who served in Congress before joining the Trump administration, has also served as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while simultaneously running the White House budget office--in other words, he can keep all the balls in the air.

Ivanka Trump, her father's White House adviser, praised Mulvaney, while thanking Kelly for his service.

Like dad, Ivanka tweeted:

“Congratulations Director Mulvaney!! You will undoubtedly continue to inspire and impress in this new role just as you have at OMB. Thank you General Kelly for almost 2 years of leadership in this Administration and for a lifetime of service to our great nation!”

Earlier Friday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie withdrew from consideration to serve as chief of staff. He evidently refuses to be Trump's hamburger 'gofer' and butler.

“It’s an honor to have the president consider me as he looks to choose a new White House chief of staff,” Christie said in a statement. “However, I’ve told the president that now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment. As a result, I have asked him to no longer keep me in any of his considerations for this post."

Before choosing Mulvaney, the president apparently had difficulty getting several contenders to commit to the position. Nick Ayers, VP Pence's chief of staff was thought to be Trump's first pick but he withdrew from consideration due to time commitments that he could not agree to.

In an interview with Fox News' Harris Faulkner on "Outnumbered Overtime" on Thursday, the president discussed his search for Kelly's replacement and said he wants “somebody that's strong but I want somebody that thinks like I do.”

Nobody thinks like Trump thinks. Nobody.

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