Trump: White House counsel McGahn will leave in the fall

President Trump announced Wednesday that White House Counsel Donald McGahn, who has been serving since the beginning of the administration in 2017, will step down in the coming weeks.

Though McGahn was an early supporter and advisor to Trump’s campaign, tensions between the president and the attorney have been growing in recent months, especially as it became clear that McGahn could emerge as a significant witness in any obstruction of justice case against the president.

The New York Times reported recently that McGahn had spent 30 hours with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is leading the probe into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians and whether Trump intervened to obstruct that investigation.

According to the report, McGahn’s cooperation with the special counsel was driven by a concern that the president, who initially authorized all of his associates to speak with investigators, might have been setting him up to take the blame for possible wrongdoing in a potential obstruction of justice case.

During an event at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Trump told reporters he had no concerns about what McGahn told Mueller But Trump, who has sometimes struggled to comprehend or accept that government officials are not tasked with defending his personal interests, privately has lashed out at McGahn on several occasions.

He blamed McGahn for not preventing Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Mueller probe last year, and demanded last summer that McGahn fire Mueller.

McGahn reportedly threatened to resign rather than carry out the order and the president relented.

Following Trump’s tweet Wednesday about McGahn, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed his displeasure in a tweet of his own.

“@realDonaldTrump I hope it’s not true McGahn is leaving WhiteHouse Counsel. U can’t let that happen,” Grassley wrote.about such a significant change.