Donald McGahn, White House lawyer, officially leaves the position



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Don McGahn, a White House lawyer, is watching President Trump speak at a White House cabinet meeting on Oct. 17. (Evan Vucci / AP)

White House lawyer Donald McGahn officially left the administration Wednesday, according to a senior White House official and another person informed of his departure – ending a mandate marked by a major reshuffling of the federal judiciary, but also clashes with the special board undergoing probe.

Asset announced late August that McGahn would step down after confirmation of his second Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh, a process that took a little longer than initially expected as a result of allegations of "no". sexual misconduct that ended the controversy between his appointment to Capitol Hill.

Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6th and McGahn was one of his most fervent advocates within the administration while the nominee was fighting those accusations.

McGahn met Trump to say goodbye on his last day, according to the person familiar with his departure. His successor will be Washington veteran attorney Pat Cipollone, who will informally advise Trump's personal attorneys in the ongoing investigation of Special Adviser Robert S. Mueller III on Russia's interference in the 2016 elections. The official departure of McGahn was first reported by The New York Times.

The transition comes as the White House prepares to suffer significant losses in the November mid-term elections, which could give the House of Representatives control over Democrats who are already preparing to launch a series of investigations. on the Trump administration. The White House council office, whose staff numbers have been decimated in recent months, would be the clearing house for the administration's responses to requests for subpoenas and applications for review.

McGahn is also buzzing at a time when the White House, in collaboration with Senate Republicans, continues to collect more confirmations from conservative lawyers in federal courts at all levels. In addition to Kavanaugh, Trump has chosen Judge Neil M. Gorsuch for the most powerful court in the country, as well as 29 district judges and dozens more judges for district courts.

This figure for circuit courts, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) In an interview Wednesday night at Fox News, constitutes a "record for any administration so early in his tenure". McConnell, along with other key GOP Senators, praised McGahn for his efforts to select Conservative candidates for the courts and to give Trump one of his most important and lasting victories in his presidency.

But Trump and McGahn also experienced strong friction, which repeatedly met with Mueller's team for several hours while the special advocate continued his investigation. Earlier in the investigation, McGahn had clashed with Trump's outside lawyers about the investigation of Russia, and he questioned their willingness to provide almost all the records and to testify at the request of the special advocate.

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