Mulvaney, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the White House budget office, failed... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Mick Mulvaney, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to run the White House budget office, failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household worker more than a decade ago, prompting the Senate's top Democrat to issue a statement saying the lapse should disqualify his nomination. In a questionnaire provided to the committee, Representative Mick Mulvaney, a conservative from South Carolina and vocal proponent of fiscal restraint noted, “I have come to learn during the confirmation review process that I failed to pay FICA and federal and state unemployment taxes on a household employee for the years 2000-2004.” 
 
 Mr. Mulvaney said he had subsequently paid more than $15,000 in taxes and awaits the state tax bill, as well as penalties and interests. His confirmation hearing before the committee is scheduled for Jan. 24. "When other previous Cabinet nominees failed to pay their fair share in taxes, Senate Republicans forced those nominees to withdraw from consideration," Schumer said shortly after The New York Times initially reported the story. "If failure to pay taxes was disqualifying for Democratic nominees, then the same should be true for Republican nominees." Attempts to reach Mr. Mulvaney’s office for comment were not successful. In the questionnaire provided to CNN, Mulvaney wrote that, "Upon discovery of that shortfall, I paid the federal taxes," adding that the relevant penalties and interest "are not yet determined."
– Controversy is suddenly swirling around Donald Trump's pick for White House budget director, whose confirmation hearing isn't until next week, after it was revealed he failed to pay more than $15,000 in taxes on a family nanny, the New York Times reports. Rep Mick Mulvaney employed the nanny from 2000 to 2004 after he and his wife had triplets. According to CNN, a Trump transition team spokesperson says Mulvaney didn't know he had to pay taxes on the nanny. The failure to do so was revealed in a questionnaire Mulvaney filled out for the Senate Budget Committee. He says he only realized his mistake during the confirmation process and has since paid the taxes he owes. He also says he will pay any interest or penalties as soon as they're determined. Similar failures to pay taxes derailed President Obama's pick for Health and Human Services and two of Bill Clinton's picks for attorney general, the AP reports. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer says Mulvaney should withdraw, noting that Republicans have jumped on Democratic cabinet nominees for the same thing. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander," he tells the Times. Supporters of Mulvaney point out that Obama's pick, Tom Daschle, failed to pay nearly 10 times what Mulvaney did. And a Trump administration spokesperson says they stand behind Mulvaney, who "has taken the appropriate follow-up measures."