WASHINGTON _ North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows has emerged as a top pick for White House chief of staff as President Donald Trump has struggled to find someone to fill what has become one of the most perilous jobs in Washington.
Meadows would bring political and conservative chops to the position as Trump gears up for his 2020 re-election campaign. One White House official praised Meadow's understanding of Trump's base of voters.
But some close to the White House question whether the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus can accomplish what a four-star general could not _ organizing the day-to-day scrum around the Oval Office.
"The reasons why the president has faced challenges are pretty obvious," said one former Trump White House official. "One, the president is unmanageable. Two, Mueller is closing in and no one knows where the ship is going to land. And three, no rational qualified person is going to put their reputation on the line because of all that, and the fact that the president treated the first two people so horribly."
Nick Ayers, the top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, was seen as Trump's first choice. But Ayers announced over the weekend that he'd rather focus on the Trump 2020 campaign. Attention then turned to former South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who was largely seen as a favorite to take the job earlier this year. But Mulvaney also indicated he wasn't interested.
"He has been saying for almost two months that he would be more interested in something like Commerce or Treasury if that's where the president needed him," a source close to Mulvaney said.
A White House official confirmed to McClatchy that Meadows is "certainly being discussed." The official touted Meadows' deep understanding of Congress and his political smarts.
"Meadows has a deep understanding of the intricacies of how Congress works, which the White House is still learning," the official said. "He also knows oversight very well, having served on the committee for several years. He'll have helpful insight into what to expect Democrats to do in the years ahead. But further, he understands what got the president elected, what his base wants to see, and can help keep the team focused on achieving those ends."
The position of White House chief of staff was once considered one of the most coveted jobs in Washington. The person sat next to the seat of power and placed his or her hands on almost every aspect of the president's daily work. But the position has become a lot more challenging under Trump's free-wheeling style, disregard for traditional structures and tendency to veer off message via Twitter.
Leon Panetta, White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, said the next person's success will depend on the level of honest and frank rapport the two can develop. The president gives the impression that he can do the job on his own, but Panetta said he must drop that attitude and delegate. There is too much to do, he said.
"You have to make clear to the president that you're going to tell him the truth. And when he screws up, you're going to tell him," Panetta said. "You got to have an honest relationship so that you can tell him what you think he's doing right. And what you think he's doing wrong. And its strikes me that this is not a president who likes people to tell him when he screws up."
Mulvaney has also repeatedly shown he's a loyal soldier in the Trump administration since his confirmation in early 2017.
If Trump approached Mulvaney and offered him the job, there's no reason to assume Mulvaney _ affable and telegenic _ would automatically decline.
Already busy at the Office of Management and Budget, he agreed earlier this year to also become head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on an interim basis. He was literally splitting his time between the two agencies, spending different days in different offices.
A full-time director was just confirmed by the Senate last week, relieving Mulvaney of this responsibility.
Other names that have been discussed include Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former campaign adviser David Bossie.
The former White House official said the president is right to seek out someone with Meadows' political instincts. But the former official said it would also be important for that person to stay through the completion of Trump's first term to reap those benefits.
"Can Meadows get the president to follow a plan from start to finish?" the former officials said. "History tells us that is unlikely. At the end of the day, the president is going to do this thing on his own terms. If he wasn't willing to listen to a four-star general will he listen to a congressman?"
