Trump's Allies Craft List of Potential Mulvaney Replacements

(Bloomberg) -- Some of Donald Trump’s closest associates are assembling a roster of possible replacements if the president decides to replace Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff, said three people close to the situation.

Among those said to be on the list are former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and veteran political operative Wayne Berman, now a senior managing director for government relations at the Blackstone Group Inc.

White House communications staff didn’t immediately comment.

While there are few signs Trump is in a hurry to replace him, some White House aides were unhappy with Mulvaney’s performance at a press conference on Thursday, the people said. Mulvaney said that the White House had withheld nearly $400 million in U.S. security aid to Ukraine in part to urge an investigation of a 2016 election conspiracy theory to discredit Democrats.

“I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy,” Mulvaney said in the White House press briefing room.

People close to the situation said Trump has recently been unhappy with Mulvaney for other reasons, though, including the White House’s slow response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Sept. 24 announcement of an impeachment inquiry into the president.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-allies-craft-list-of-potential-mulvaney-replacements/ar-AAJ4Qul