Newly-appointed acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney Mick MulvaneyMick Mulvaney to start hedge fund Fauci says positive White House task force reports don't always match what he hears on the ground Bottom line MORE is reportedly pushing President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE to stand firm and not accept a spending deal from Democrats that does not involve fully funding his plans for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Politico reports that sources close to Mulvaney say the aide is among several top officials counseling the president to reject any bills from Congress that do not supply the desired $5 billion the White House hopes to secure for a border wall.

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“Democrats would like to try to increase spending on anything but the wall," a person close to Mulvaney told the news outlet, who added that Mulvaney saw his role "as reminding the president this is a bad deal."

Mulvaney was one of the few aides who reportedly remained in Washington over the holidays as Trump stayed at the White House as the partial government shutdown stretched into its second week.

His work to pressure Trump towards a confrontation with Democrats over the issue follows weeks of effort to secure alternate means of funding for the wall as part of his responsibilities as Office of Management and Budget chief, and reportedly came after Mulvaney proposed several alternate methods of funding the wall's construction to the president.

In December, he also defended Trump's plans for funding the border security measures despite Trump's pledges to make Mexico pay for it, suggesting that Mexico's contributions to a new trade deal yet to be reviewed by Congress would make up for the difference.

"American workers are going to do better, the government is going to do better, and you could make the argument that Mexico is paying for it in that fashion," Mulvaney said at the time.

Mulvaney took over this week as acting White House chief of staff, replacing John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE who announced his resignation late last year. Previously a congressman, Mulvaney also served in the Trump administration as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.