Trump picks Freedom Caucus leader for budget director: report

President-elect Donald Trump will choose Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), The New York Times reported.

“He’s a tremendous talent, especially when it comes to numbers and budgets,” Trump said in a statement, according to the Times.

A senior official with Trump’s transition team said Mulvaney’s formal selection is expected Monday, McClatchy reported Friday.

Mulvaney, who would need Senate confirmation if nominated, has previously voiced interest in leading OMB.

{mosads}“I would love to be director of OMB,” he wrote on Oct. 19 when asked by a constituent what role he would prefer in Trump’s Cabinet on Facebook. “That is where I think real improvements can be made in how the government is run.”

Mulvaney is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. The South Carolina lawmaker is also a staunch fiscal conservative. 

The OMB chief is responsible for administering the federal budget and measuring the performance of federal agencies.

The budget director is also tasked with for procurement, or setting and enforcing federal practices and policies regarding the purchase of goods and services. 

Mulvaney visited Trump Tower last week, according to pool reports. 

He declined to comment on his meeting, McClatchy reported, but Trump spokesman Jason Miller praised Mulvaney as a lawmaker with a “very proven track record as a fiscal conservative and a government reformer.” 

Trump’s transition team is racing to round out the president-elect’s future administration ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20.