Donald Trump names Mark Paoletta general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget
WASHINGTON − President-elect Donald Trump designated Mark Paoletta, a former congressional staffer and White House veteran who has represented the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to serve as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget in his second administration. Paoletta filled that role in Trump's first term as well.
"Mark is a brilliant and tenacious lawyer, who worked tirelessly to advance my Agenda in the First Term," Trump wrote in his post announced the nomination on Truth Social. "As OMB GC in my First Administration, Mark led the charge to identify funding to build the Southern Border Wall, and worked with then-OMB Director Russ Vought to rein in woke and weaponized Government spending. Mark is a partner at the Law Firm, Schaerr Jaffe, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Renewing America."
The announcement comes as Trump fills out his Cabinet and other top posts in preparation for his second term, which begins Jan. 20.
Paoletta is a former 10-year counsel to a House committee. As chief counsel for the Energy and Commerce subcommittee, he managed 200 investigative hearings.
The Office of Management and Budget is a gatekeeper for all federal spending and reviews policy changes. Trump's nominee to run OMB is Russell Vought, a co-author of the conservative policy blueprint known as Project 2025.
"Mark will work closely with our DOGE team to cut the size of our bloated Government bureaucracy, and root out wasteful and anti-American spending," Trump said, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency that will be run by businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Paoletta also helped prepare two Supreme Court nominees and Cabinet officials for confirmation hearings. He earlier served as assistant counsel to President George H.W. Bush, when he worked to confirm Thomas.
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He represented Ginni Thomas, the wife of the Supreme Court justice, in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to overturn the election.