Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney revealed that President Trump rejected budget options that involved changes to Social Security.
In an interview with John Harwood of CNBC on Tuesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney revealed that President Trump rejected budget options that involved changes to Social Security and Medicare.
Mulvaney said he’d prepared a variety of options for the initial request, reports The Hill.
He told Harwood that he wrote them down, but Trump “looked at one and said, ‘What is that?’ And I said, ‘Well, that's a change to part of Social Security.’ He said, ‘No. No.’ He said, ‘I told people I wouldn't change that when I ran. And I'm not going to change that. Take that off the list.’"
Though Trump may be reluctant to go back on his word, the Republican-dominated Congress is not tethered to the president’s promises and could seek to make cuts to the programs.
As for whether or not the president would veto such legislation on principle, Mulvaney said, “That’s not a really conducive way to sort of maintain a relationship between the executive and the administrative branch. Let them pass that and let’s talk about it.”
In a press briefing on February 27, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the possibility of future cuts in entitlements. Spicer responded, in part, "I think the President understands the commitment that was made to seniors in particular...he’s a man of his word."