Late last year, while Mick Mulvaney was leading the Office of Management and Budget and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he was weeks away from nabbing the acting White House chief of staff gig.
However, at the time, he was also eyeing a very different occupation: the presidency of the University of South Carolina.
According to a Monday New York Times report, Mulvaney had reached out to an official at the school as recently as late 2018 to inquire about the upcoming vacancy, and has an ongoing interest in the job.
Though he reportedly has received a warm reception in the White House, he may be covering his bases: President Donald Trump is notoriously mercurial and often turns on his most senior aides within months of appointing them.