Grandson of Mayo immigrants takes key role in Trump administration

The grandson of immigrants from County Mayo has been appointed US President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff, arguably the second most important job in Washington.

President Trump's current budget director Mick Mulvaney replaces another Irish American, General John Kelly.

According to the Irish Central website, Mulvaney has been the Irish government's go-to man in the White House since Trump took over and Mulvaney became head of the Office of Management and Budget.

He is very involved in the E3 visa issue which would allow about 5,000 work visas a year to Ireland in return for reciprocal visas for Americans to visit Ireland.

With the E3 visas in the balance, Mulvaney's new powerful position could help sway outstanding Republicans to pass the visa program.

Mulvaney has been active on Irish issues since coming to Congress in 2010. He first came to prominence after meeting Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform President Ciaran Staunton and became deeply involved in Irish issues after that.

He has a daughter studying in Trinity College Dublin and is a frequent visitor to the Irish Embassy. He and his wife Pamela West married in 1998. They have triplets, Finn, James and Caroline.

"I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to make America great again!" President Trump tweeted.

Mulvaney grew up in Charlotte, NC, before moving to Indian Land, SC. He attended Georgetown University, from where he graduated with a degree in International Economics, Commerce and Finance, followed by a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

He served in the state legislature before being elected to Congress in the 2010 GOP wave. His victory margin was in the double digits, which surprised many because the district had not sent a Republican to Washington since the 1880s.