Thread: White House counsel Don McGahn is out

White House counsel Don McGahn is out

David Choi, provided by

Published 7:03 pm CDT, Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• White House counsel Don McGahn left the Trump administration on Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the situation said to Business Insider.
• President Donald Trump floated the idea of replacing McGahn with attorney Pat Cipollone, a Justice Department veteran, earlier this week.
• McGahn's departure adds to a long list of exits from the Trump administration. The turnover has already broken records fewer than two years into Trump's first term.

White House counsel Don McGahn left the Trump administration on Wednesday after a tumultuous 21-month tenure, a source with knowledge of the situation said to Business Insider.

McGahn was said to be on his way out of the White House, which was likely to happen after the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

McGahn reportedly had a 20-minute farewell meeting with Trump on Wednesday, where both parties expressed interest in terminating their ties, according to a source in a CNN report.

"Typically you would have the incumbent stay until the successor was ready to take his place," the source said to CNN. "But in this case McGahn was tired of the President and the President was tired of McGahn."

Another source disputed the claim and alleged McGahn wanted to stay with the administration until the midterm elections in November, according to CNN.

President Donald Trump floated the idea of replacing McGahn with attorney Pat Cipollone, a Justice Department veteran, earlier this week.

Andrew Harnik/AP

Cipollone, who currently practices in a Washington, DC-based law firm, was reportedly working with Trump's legal team in recent months and has extensive experience with crisis management, consumer fraud, and constitutional issues.

Trump described Cipollone as "a very fine man, highly respected by a lot of people."

McGahn's departure adds to a long list of exits from the Trump administration. The turnover had already broken records fewer than two years into President Donald Trump's first term.

Despite playing a critical role in Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation process, McGahn's relationship with the president appeared to fray in recent months, according to multiple news reports.

McGahn, who was reportedly frustrated with Trump's "volcanic anger" and abrupt eruptions, described the president as "King Kong" behind his back, according to The Times. McGahn was also viewed as a check on Trump's impulsive actions, and as a result, found himself attracting the president's ire.

Trump was also reportedly incensed after special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to head the Russia investigation in 2017.

Trump is believed to have blamed McGahn, in addition to attorney general Jeff Sessions, for the ongoing investigation into the possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

As the investigation dragged on, McGahn turned heads after he reportedly cooperated with the special counsel. He is believed to have voluntarily spent at least 30 hours in interviews with investigators this year, in which he provided insight on how Trump may have obstructed justice by firing FBI director James Comey and floating the idea of firing Mueller.

The White House counsel's office, which typically consists of a 50 attorneys, currently has around 25, according to a Washington Post report published Saturday.

https://www.lmtonline.com/technology...t-13316124.php

Don McGahn did a great job in my opinion with everything he was involved with. One of the unsung heroes of the Trump Administration. Wish him well and he will be missed.