Trump’s SC chairman vetted for State Department post

Another South Carolinian may be heading north to join President Donald Trump’s administration.

Ed McMullen, a Columbia public affairs consultant who was Trump’s S.C. chairman, is being vetted for a position with the Republican administration, possibly an ambassadorship, The State has learned.

If he gets the job, McMullen would follow former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, who resigned to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, the Indian Land Republican who resigned from Congress to become Trump’s budget director.

An ambassadorship would be a way for Trump to thank McMullen for being his S.C. campaign chairman. McMullen helped the billionaire reality-TV star win South Carolina’s pivotal first-in-the-South Republican primary.

U.S. Department of State officials have been contacting friends and associates of McMullen in the Palmetto State, asking standard background questions, including does he pay his taxes to does he harbor any anti-American sentiments, The State has learned.

Among those contacted was longtime McMullen friend Lewis Gossett, chief executive of the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance.

Gossett said a State Department agent came to South Carolina to meet with him about McMullen.

“He’s well respected and does great work,” said Gossett of McMullen, adding the federal agent did not say what position McMullen is being vetted for.

McMullen declined to comment when asked if he is being vetted by the State Department or if he is being considered for an ambassadorship.

However, a recent update to McMullen’s biographical information on his firm’s website may provide a clue. That update mentions McMullen’s ties to two European countries.

“On an international level, Ed is an alumnus of the American-Swiss Foundation Young Leaders Conference (class of 1995) and has traveled extensively in Switzerland and Italy,” his bio says.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Trump’s SC chairman vetted for State Department post."