WaPo Op-Ed Attacks Trump’s OMB Pick For Never Serving on Budget Committee (Except He Has)

In a particularly unfortunate error, a Washington Post column criticized president elect Donald Trump‘s pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget for having never served on the House Budget Committee, even though he actually had.

“Trump’s OMB pick seems poised to ignite a worldwide financial crisis,” warned Post columnist Catherine Rampell Monday. In particular, she argued that Trump’s pick, South Carolina Congressman Mick Mulvaney, was simply too unqualified for the job:

One might hope that once Mulvaney adopts his new role, he’ll become more cautious about encouraging default. That seems optimistic, though, given that, as budget expert Stan Collender put it, Mulvaney will probably be the most ideological and least-qualified OMB director in decades. (Mulvaney didn’t even serve on the House Budget Committee, which might help explain his superficial understanding of the debt ceiling.)

But despite that rather specific line of criticism, Mulvaney did serve on the committee in 2011 and 2012. (Because of the power the House Budget Committee wields, membership is term-limited and turnover is very high).

A correction placed prominently above the op-ed now admits the error: “An earlier version of this column stated that Rep. Mick Mulvaney did not serve on the House Budget Committee. He was a member of that committee in the 112th Congress. This version has been updated.”

[Image via screengrab]

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