Don McGahn

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Don McGahn

Donald F. McGahn II (born June 16, 1968 in Atlantic City , New Jersey ) is an American lawyer. He served as Legal Advisor to the White House under President Donald Trump from January 2017 to October 2018 .

Family, education and legal work

McGahn grew up in Atlantic City , New Jersey , and initially studied at the University of Notre Dame . In 1994 he graduated from Widener University with a law degree .

McGahn has been married to Shannon Flaherty since late 2010, who has been a political advisor to the National Association of Realtors since October 2018 . She previously worked with Congressman Jeb Hensarling and, in 2017/18, advisor to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin . The couple have two sons and live in Alexandria , Virginia.

McGahn was a partner in the area of party financing law for the law firm Jones Day in Washington, DC , and several years as a legal advisor to the National Republican Congressional Committee . From 2008 to 2013, at the instigation of the Republicans in the Senate, he was one of the representatives of the Republican Party on the Federal Election Commission and temporarily its chairman.

Work for Donald Trump

McGahn, he was a leading attorney in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and was part of the transition team following Trump's election victory. The straight into his established office President Trump appointed McGahn on January 20, 2017 to White House Counsel after mid-November 2017, he had chosen McGahn in this position.

As a legal advisor, McGahn focused on preparing judge nominations and deregulation efforts. Unlike all previous legal advisors, he had no experience as an insider in political or administrative institutions and served as a link to the Republican party leadership in Congress , which was initially skeptical of the new president. McGahn showed himself to be relatively independent in this position and saw himself more as an advisor to the office than to the person of the president, which led to conflicts with Trump, who cast doubt on McGahn's loyalty. He was criticized for his role in the inadequate review of National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn , who resigned after a few weeks, and the delayed introduction of the entry ban for residents of Muslim majority countries ( Executive Order 13769 ). McGahn agreed to the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey , despite initial concerns , and questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his decision to withdraw from oversight of the Russia investigation because of bias .

In January 2018, the New York Times made public that Trump had ordered McGahn in June 2017 to initiate the dismissal of Special Counsel Robert Mueller , who is leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election campaign. McGahn had warned of this step and threatened that he would rather resign himself before he did so. Trump then abandoned his plan.

On August 29, 2018, Trump announced that McGahn would be leaving the White House in the fall of 2018. In mid-August, the New York Times reported that McGahn had "extensively" cooperated with special investigator Mueller. On October 17, 2018, McGahn's employment at the White House ended. Republican Senators Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, and Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, were deeply concerned about McGahn's departure. On October 16, Trump had appointed Washington business lawyer Pat Cipollone as his successor .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Saleha Mohsin: Senior Treasury Official McGahn to Leave Post, Return to Capitol Hill. In: Bloomberg.com , January 5, 2018; Tom Cleary: Shannon Flaherty McGahn, Don McGahn's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. In: Heavy.com , last updated August 19, 2018; Carl Franzen: NAR makes two new hires, including former Trump treasury official. In: Inman.com , October 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Jones Day lawyers tapped for federal and state posts. In: Jones Day , January 2017.
  3. ↑ Who is Donald McGahn? In: CNN.com , May 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ 'The Quiet Man': The Powerful Conservative White House Lawyer In The Middle Of It All. In: National Public Radio , June 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ Michael C. Bender, Joe Palazzolo: Donald Trump Selects Donald McGahn as White House Counsel. In: The Wall Street Journal , November 25, 2017; Nancy Cook: 'He's Going to Be an Enabler'. In: Politico , February 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ Bob Bauer: Don McGahn as White House Counsel: An Early Appraisal. In: Lawfare , September 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit. In: The New York Times , January 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Donald Trump separates from legal advisor McGahn. In: Spiegel Online , August 29, 2018.
  9. ^ White House Counsel, Don McGahn, Has Cooperated Extensively in Mueller Inquiry. In: The New York Times , August 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ McGahn exits as White House counsel. In: Politico , October 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ Bob Bauer: Don McGahn as White House Counsel: An Early Appraisal. In: Lawfare , September 2, 2018.
  12. ↑ Trump names White House counsel to succeed Don McGahn. In: Public Broadcasting Service , October 16, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME McGahn, Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McGahn, Donald F. II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer, White House legal advisor in the administration of US President Donald Trump
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH United States