Trump's announcement of Don McGahn's exit came as a surprise to even McGahn himself

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 29 August 2018

Hours after President Trump told his Twitter followers to "stop reading" news articles that are based on "fictional" anonymous sources, he confirmed an anonymous report that White House Counsel Don McGahn would be leaving his position in the fall.

McGahn was just as surprised as anyone to see the tweet, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. McGahn "will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court," Trump tweeted. "I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!" But McGahn reportedly hadn't discussed his plans to leave with Trump yet and wasn't aware that Trump was about to post a tweet about the move.

"He was surprised," a source told the Post, explaining McGahn's shock at seeing his unannounced exit plan trumpeted to Trump's 54 million Twitter followers. But the White House counsel has worked with Trump long enough to expect the unexpected — he has reportedly taken an attitude of "of course it happened this way" when it comes to the president's ability to astound. Read more at The Washington Post.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.