Trump tweets on counsel
Excited but not ready to name McGahn’s successor, he declares.
WASHINGTON — A day after announcing the departure of his White House counsel, President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s excited about his choice for a replacement but isn’t ready to share his new lawyer’s name.
Trump said Wednesday on Twitter that Don McGahn will leave in the fall. He has been a consequential insider on Trump’s legal team and a key figure in the administration’s handling of the federal investigation into Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion.
“I am very excited about the person who will be taking the place of Don McGahn as White House Councel!” Trump tweeted Thursday. He sent a later tweet that spelled “counsel” correctly.
Trump also took a shot at reports that McGahn had threatened to resign last year if the president continued to press for the removal of special counsel Robert Mueller as head of the
Russia investigation.
“I liked
Don, but he was NOT responsible for me not firing Bob Mueller or Jeff Sessions. So much Fake Reporting and Fake News!” Trump said, referring as well to his attorney general, who recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Trump said Thursday that the Russia investigation was not a factor, “even a little bit,” in his decision about McGahn’s departure.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said at the White House on Thursday that Trump will make the announcement about McGahn’s successor. She offered no timetable.
McGahn has done “a fantastic job as White House counsel,” she said, mentioning his work on deregulation and the president’s judicial nominees.
McGahn’s exit, which has been expected for some time, continues the churn of top officials as the White House struggles to fill key vacancies.
Unlike some less-amiable separations, however, Trump praised McGahn as “a really good guy” who has done “an excellent job.”
The departure of Trump’s top lawyer will hit one of the most critical — and yet least visible — positions in the West Wing. Besides dealing with Mueller’s investigation, McGahn has had important input on a range of issues from policy to personnel to national security.
He will remain at the White House until after the expected Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Trump said.
Emmet Flood, who joined Trump’s White House in May as in-house counsel for the Mueller probe, has been considered a leading candidate to replace him and has the departing attorney’s support, two administration officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
McGahn’s time has been marked by tumult as he has been the main point of contact inside the White House for Mueller’s investigation. He has met with investigators on at least three occasions for many hours at a time.
Trump’s announcement came more than a week after a New York Times report that McGahn had been cooperating extensively with Mueller’s probe.
Trump insisted at the time that his general counsel wasn’t a “RAT” and contrasted him with John Dean, the White House counsel for President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Dean ultimately cooperated with prosecutors.
Trump said Wednesday that McGahn’s departure had nothing to do with the lawyer’s interviews with the special counsel.
Information for this article was contributed by Eric Tucker of The Associated Press.