Former South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney is getting criticized for being so open about Washington’s dirty secret: that money means access and open doors. “It sounds like Mick is swimming in the swamp more than draining the swamp, and it’s a problem,” said Bob Inglis, another former South Carolina congressman. Inglis’ comments came a day after Mulvaney, the interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, admitted to meeting with lobbyists as a South Carolina U.S. representative but favored those who sunk dollars into his campaign. “We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress,” Mulvaney told 1,300 banking executives and lobbyists Tuesday at the annual conference of the American Bankers Association in Washington. “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.” Mulvaney, who represented the Upstate 5th Congressional District until President Donald Trump tapped him to be his budget director, reiterated that he always met with constituents regardless of their financial contributions. “People coming from back home to tell people in Congress what issues are important to them is one of the fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy, and you have to continue to do it,” Mulvaney said. Inglis, a former Republican congressman for the 4th Congressional District anchored in Greenville, said his former colleague’s actions are emblematic of a larger issue: A Republican Party letting its leaders get away with breaking promises and dubious actions. “To me, it’s consistent with… [Read full story]
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