White House Counsel Don McGahn is leaving the West Wing, President Trump confirmed in a tweet Wednesday morning.
The confirmation comes just hours after an Axios report detailed McGahn's impending exit, citing federal officials and other sources close to McGahn. Trump tweeted that McGahn will leave this fall, soon after Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is "hopefully" confirmed to the court, which mirrors Axios' reporting.
McGahn was recently revealed to have cooperated with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, providing 30 hours of interviews to Mueller's team. Trump's lawyers were reportedly unsure of what McGahn told investigators, but the president still tweeted that he okayed the testimonies and that McGahn was not a "John Dean type 'RAT.'"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump has not yet named a replacement for McGahn. But a source close to the lawyer tells Axios that McGahn is hoping for Emmet Flood, who served in the Clinton and Bush administrations and is currently an attorney for the president in the Russia investigation. Trump administration officials also said they want Flood in the spot because he communicates well with Trump — and because he isn't a fan of investigations into sitting presidents.
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
