Trump taps fiscal hawk to head budget office

Washington, Dec 18 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Republican Mick Mulvaney, a fiscal conservative who has warned of rising budget deficits, to head the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Mulvaney’s main responsibility as OMB head would be to assist the president in developing and implementing the federal budget.

"Right now we are nearly $20 trillion in debt, but Mick is a very high-energy leader with deep convictions for how to responsibly manage our nation’s finances and save our country from drowning in red ink," Trump said in a statement on Saturday, Efe news reported.

The 49-year-old Republican, who represents a district in South Carolina, won a seat in Congress in 2010 by riding the Tea Party wave in that year’s mid-term election.

He has been a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of fiscally conservative GOP lawmakers who oppose any increase in government spending.

The head of the OMB must be confirmed by the Senate, where Mulvaney does not have many allies.

Mulvaney would be tasked with designing a budget that fulfils key Trump campaign promises, including plans to repeal President Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, informally known as Obamacare; overhaul key areas of the tax code; and carry out an infrastructure spending program.