South Carolina congressman tapped to write president's budget

ROCK HILL, S.C. — President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as president on Friday. The man who could be writing Trump's budget represents York and Lancaster counties in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina is about to face confirmation hearings for the position of director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Mulvaney entered Congress during the 2010 Tea Party sweep. He has pushed spending cuts and smaller government since he took office. Some wonder how he'll work with Trump, who has proposed lots of new spending.

Some Republican voters said Trump's choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget, was top notch, because Mulvaney, will tell the president what he thinks.

Don Long has been active in the York County GOP for years.

“He's very good at defending his beliefs and positions, and a little bit like a bulldog at defending those beliefs," he said.

Local Republicans expect a good relationship between Mulvaney and the president.

Dr. Karen Kedrowski of Winthrop University said Mulvaney is a good choice for the budget office, for many reasons.

“The position of OMB director is really quite up his alley. He understands numbers. He understands where tax revenue sources are," Kedrowski said.

However, Mulvaney has always been a budget hawk, while Trump campaigned on several large-scale projects.

The president-elect has proposed a massive wall on the border with Mexico and spending billions on repairing roads and bridges.

Expensive ideas that experts said could put the two men at odds.

"So the question is, to what degree will Mulvaney be allowed to leave some of his fingerprints on the president's budget proposal?" Kedrowski said.

Democrats said those fingerprints likely won't help erase income inequality, or give tax breaks to those who need it most.

Matthew Ellison is spokesman the state's Democratic Party.

“Mick Mulvaney fits right in with the right-wing ideologues who are going to fill the ranks of the next administration," he said. "Mulvaney and Trump agree that the richest Americans should get tax breaks. We're disappointed in this choice."

The president’s budget is more of a recommendation of a spending plan. Congress often ignores the budget from the Oval Office in place of its own. It's not clear yet how well Trump's budget will play in a GOP-controlled Congress.

Channel 9 went to Mulvaney's Rock Hill office Tuesday.

His staff said he would not be available for interviews until after the confirmation hearings.

Those hearings are expected to begin next week.

Channel 9 also asked Democrat leaders about Mulvaney's open seat in Congress if he's confirmed. A special election would likely be called this spring to fill the seat.

Democrats held the 5th District Congressional seat for decades, until Mulvaney unseated John Spratt.

They acknowledge that winning back the seat would be a steep uphill battle.

Cox Media Group