As the U.S. Senate considers the nomination of Mick Mulvaney to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the American people should take a close look at President Donald Trump's radical choice to fill this important role. Time and time again, Mulvaney has fought to gut Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors who have paid into the programs their entire lives. During his recent confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, he doubled down and committed to urging President Trump to break his campaign promise and cut these programs. His obsession with slashing Social Security, Medicare, and critical investments in our future will likely result in disaster if he is confirmed as the Director of the OMB.
Many people outside of Washington, D.C. are unfamiliar with the OMB, one of the most powerful but least recognized offices in the federal government. The Office plays a critical role in the federal budget process and how agencies interpret our laws. Specifically, the OMB is tasked with producing the President's budget and establishing the Executive Branch's priorities for the fiscal year, as well as implementing spending decisions made by Congress. It also reviews regulations proposed by federal agencies, ultimately helping determine whether these policies benefit working class families or protect special interests.
Since the OMB plays such a large role in implementing the federal budget, you would hope its Director would be someone who, at the very least, believes we should maintain a regular fiscal process. There is more to a budget than making cuts, and it is critical we fund programs that serve the public and add value to our communities. Unfortunately, President Trump aligned himself with the far-right fringe of his party by nominating Mick Mulvaney to fill this position. Mulvaney, a Member of Congress who was swept into office during the 2010 Tea Party wave, is an anti-government ideologue whose time in office has been characterized by efforts to halt the basic functioning of our democratic system. Mulvaney has repeatedly showed not only a disinterest in a consistent budgetary process, but a passion for cutting vital programs and threatening our economy to advance his radical agenda.
You don't need me to explain Mulvaney's radical agenda; his own comments and actions during his time in Congress speak for themselves. In recent years, Mulvaney has:
•Fought to cut Social Security and called the program a "Ponzi scheme"
•Demanded action to "end Medicare as we know it"
•Called the 2013 government shutdown "good politics" and "good policy," despite it costing the government billions of dollars and impacting millions of Americans' access to important services
•Questioned the need for federally funded disease research
•Led the charge to defund Planned Parenthood and vowed to shut down the government unless the funding was cut
•Downplayed the potentially catastrophic effects of defaulting on our national debt
•Consistently supported budget proposals with deep cuts to critical health, education, and nutrition programs.
Mulvaney's record is clear: he stands in strong opposition to the needs of our seniors, children, and working class families. We cannot afford to have an OMB Director determined to slash the social safety net and cut the investments we need to create an economy that works for everyone. As the Senate continues to consider President Trump's cabinet nominations, they must reject Mick Mulvaney and demand a nominee who will make decisions based on what's best for the American people rather than based on an extreme and rigid ideology