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Don McGahn stepped down as White House lawyer Wednesday, a decision announced in August.
Evan Vucci / AP
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Evan Vucci / AP
Don McGahn stepped down as White House lawyer Wednesday, a decision announced in August.
Evan Vucci / AP
White House lawyer Don McGahn has stepped down from Wednesday. But his influence will continue for years, thanks to dozens of conservative judges that McGahn helped President Trump get elected to the federal judiciary.
The grueling confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh marked an explosive end to McGahn's mandate in the White House. But he has also worked more discreetly over the past two years to mark the lower courts.
After a wave of confirmations by the Senate on October 11, Trump has so far installed 29 appellate court judges and 52 district court judges – along with Kavanaugh and his Supreme Court colleague, Neil Gorsuch .
McGahn oversaw the President's selection process by selecting uniformly conservative candidates – often suggested by the Federalist Society or the Heritage Foundation – and generally young people – who can shape the decisions of federal courts for decades to come.
The importance of McGahn for justice, the White House and the country can not be overstated, "said Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., In August.
McConnell and his GOP colleagues paved the way for the McGahn courthouse's metamorphosis by refusing to fill vacancies in the judiciary in the last few years of the Obama administration. This left a large number of vacancies on Mr. Trump's seat as soon as he took office, including the seat on the Supreme Court left vacant by the death of Judge Antonin Scalia.
Upon Scalia's death in 2016, McGahn was Trump's campaign lawyer. He suggested to the candidate to publish a list of conservative judges among whom Trump would choose the successor of Scalia, if he was elected.
This list would be a key selling point for Trump among social conservatives, who might otherwise have been skeptical of a three times married New York billionaire.
Not all of McGahn's judicial choices were made in the Senate. Some were disturbed by inflammatory statements they had made in the past. And Matthew Petersen was forced to withdraw his candidacy after a humiliating question-and-answer session with Senator John Kennedy, R-La., Which highlighted Petersen's lack of basic legal knowledge.
But McGahn was more than willing to push the envelope. According to Time magazine, he tried to choose judges "too hot for prime time … This is the kind of people that makes some people nervous".
McGahn himself may have shaken the nerves of the White House when the New York Times announced in August that he had cooperated "extensively" with the Special Advocate's investigation. Robert Mueller on the interference of Russia in the 2016 election and a possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Less than two weeks after the publication of this story, Trump tweeted McGahn would leave his post at the White House in the fall.
White House lawyer Don McGahn will be stepping down this fall shortly after Justice Brett Kavanaugh's (hopefully) confirmation to the United States Supreme Court. I have been working with Don for a long time and I really appreciate his service!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told NPR that the timing had nothing to do with McGahn's talks with the special advocate's office. McGahn had previously rebuffed the president's pressure to fire Mueller, who threatened to resign if Trump insisted.
McGahn, who was previously a fighting member of the Federal Election Commission, drew early criticism of the Trump administration on poorly drafted decrees. Trump's original travel ban and a measure to penalize so-called "sanctuary towns" have been overturned by federal courts, although a modified version of the travel ban has been struck down by federal courts, although a modified version of the travel ban has finally confirmed by the Supreme Court.
On October 17, Washington lawyer Pat Cipollone is expected to replace McGahn as a White House lawyer, Trump told The Associated Press.
McGahn could resume his lucrative career as a partner at Jones Day law firm, while also working for Trump's re-election campaign.
He may also find more time for music. McGahn was previously lead guitarist and occasional keyboardist in Scott's New Band.
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