White House Counsel Officially Resigns

Don McGahn reshaped judiciary in less than 2 years
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2018 1:33 AM CDT
White House Counsel Officially Resigns
White House counsel Don McGahn listens as Supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

White House counsel Don McGahn has officially quit as expected following the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. His last day was Wednesday, but in less than two years in the job, he left an imprint that will last for decades, NPR reports. He oversaw the selection process that chose dozens of young, conservative judges to fill vacancies on the federal bench. With McGahn's help, Trump has been able to install no fewer than 29 appeals court judges and 52 district court judges—"a record for any administration this early in its term," according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—as well as Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.

But McGahn also clashed with Trump repeatedly in his time as White House counsel, especially over the Robert Mueller investigation, the Washington Post reports. Last year, McGahn reportedly told Trump he would quit rather than follow an order to have Mueller fired. Washington attorney Pat Cipollone is set to replace McGahn, and he is likely to be a busy man: Along with the Mueller investigation, which he has already been informally advising the administration on, his office will have to deal with multiple subpoenas and other requests if the Democrats win control of the House in the midterm elections. (McGahn spoke to Mueller for more than 30 hours.)

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