Carper Opposes Mick Mulvaney Nomination

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the nomination of Congressman Mick Mulvaney to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is an essential agency charged with promoting fiscal responsibility and effective management across the federal government. It’s difficult for me to understand how Congressman Mulvaney, who has during his congressional career advocated for extreme budget cuts and voted repeatedly to shut down the government, can step into the important role of OMB Director and effectively work with other agencies and the president to make sound, responsible budget decisions. He has championed proposals that would gut funding for federal agencies and strip federal programs to the bone. He has enthusiastically supported efforts to shut down the government over funding for bedrock health programs. Government shutdowns are avoidable failures of governance that hemorrhage taxpayer dollars—sometimes to the tune of billions—and put agencies in organizational and financial disarray.

“Further, it’s important to keep in mind that the role the OMB Director plays in developing the president’s management agenda and working with agencies to more efficiently and effectively run their programs is just as important as the role he or she plays in developing the president’s budget. The person we confirm for the job needs to be able to hit the ground running on day one to develop solutions to a number of longstanding management challenges and find creative ways to get better results for less money in everything we do. While Congressman Mulvaney has been very outspoken on budget issues, I’m concerned that he does not seem to have the experience necessary to be the kind of leader on management issues that the OMB Director needs to be.

“I appreciate Congressman Mulvaney’s willingness to serve but I am not convinced that he has the experience and perspective necessary to take on this very important role. I do not support his nomination to be our next OMB Director.”