Office of Advocacy
Dr. Casey B. Mulligan
Chief Counsel
“It’s an honor to advocate for more than 36 million small businesses that drive our economy. The power to regulate may sit in Washington, but the know-how about real-world challenges lives in every shop floor, farm, and start-up across America.”
Biography
Casey B. Mulligan serves as the Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy, charged with representing an independent voice of small businesses before federal agencies, Congress, and the White House.
Mulligan brings a unique combination of academic expertise, government service, and first-hand small business experience to the position. In 1993, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His research has focused on labor markets, taxation, health economics, and regulatory policy, with an emphasis on the ways government rules affect competition, productivity, and entrepreneurship. He has published extensively on regulatory economics and authored several books, including You’re Hired!, Chicago Price Theory, and The Redistribution Recession.
From 2018 to 2019, Mulligan served as Chief Economist of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he provided economic analysis on federal regulatory initiatives, health care, labor markets, and tax policy.
Mulligan grew up in a family that relied on his father’s software company, has testified on behalf of family farmers facing eminent domain, and managed his own small businesses. He has seen first-hand the compliance burdens that federal rules can place on entrepreneurs—from payroll paperwork to environmental permitting. These experiences have reinforced his conviction that “while regulatory power is centralized in Washington, the knowledge of how rules actually affect people and communities resides with small business owners across the country.”
As Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Mulligan’s priorities include strengthening the voice of small businesses through regional outreach, ensuring agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and producing high-quality economic research and data on small business trends.
Featured Articles
August 6, 2025
Senate Confirms Dr. Casey Mulligan as Chief Counsel for Small Businesses
In a significant move that stands to impact small businesses across the nation, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Casey Mulligan as the Chief Counsel of the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA) with a vote of 52-44.
August 5, 2025
Chief Counsel for Advocacy Casey Mulligan Hits the Ground Running on Day One with Report to Congress
“For too long, small businesses have been overlooked in the federal rulemaking process,” said Chief Counsel Mulligan. “My office will work to hold agencies accountable and ensure that small businesses aren’t left behind by bureaucratic overreach.”
August 5, 2025
Dr. Casey Mulligan Sworn in as Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration
“My mission is to follow their example so entrepreneurs can hire, grow, and prosper.”
August 1, 2025
Ernst Leads Senate in Confirming Key Trump Nominee After Democrat Obstruction
Ernst’s remarks:
“Today the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of Dr. Casey Mulligan to be the Chief Counsel of the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration…”