Casey Mulligan (Ph.D. ’93), a professor in the Department of Economics and the College, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as chief counsel for advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA).
During the previous Trump administration, Mulligan served as chief economist on the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) from September 2018 to August 2019. The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Trump announced the nomination in a January 11 post on Truth Social, highlighting Mulligan’s tenure at the University and his work in the last Trump administration as key to his decision.
“Casey is a fantastic Economist from the University of Chicago and a highly respected expert on the regulations that are crushing our Small Businesses,” Trump wrote. “During my First Term, Casey was the Chief Economist of my Council of Economic Advisers where he helped craft the Economic policies that gave us the best Economy in American History.”
During his tenure with the CEA, which is responsible for advising the president on economic issues, Mulligan had a key role in researching and promoting Trump’s economic policy with a focus on regulation and healthcare. In 2020, Mulligan published the book You’re Hired! Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President, detailing his experience as chief economist.
The chief counsel for advocacy is responsible for representing the views of small business owners and researching the impacts that regulations have on small businesses.
Mulligan’s appointment will fill a position that has been vacant since Darryl DePriest, appointed by President Obama, left the SBA in 2017. Major Clark III served as acting chief counsel from January 2017 to November 2021, when he took over as deputy chief counsel. In the absence of a Senate-confirmed appointee, Clark has performed the duties of chief counsel for advocacy since 2017.
Mulligan will assume the position following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate. His confirmation hearings, which will be held before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, have not yet been scheduled.
The Committee to Unleash Prosperity, where Mulligan serves as chief economist, said in a statement on their website that, as chief counsel, Mulligan will “assess the costs and benefits of federal rules on small businesses. If they’re a net negative – as most are – they can be rescinded.”
Correction, February 2, 2025, 9 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Mulligan would replace Major Clark III, who has served as deputy chief counsel since 2021. Mulligan is being nominated for a position that has been empty since 2017.