The Atlantic

Don McGahn Was the Most Productive Person in Trump's White House

The White House counsel outlasted many other top administration officials and oversaw judicial appointments, the president’s single biggest achievement.
Source: Alex Wroblewski / Reuters

When Don McGahn leaves the White House this fall, it will end one of the longest, and most improbably successful, stints in the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday morning that his White House counsel would leave after the presumed confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Axios had reported the news earlier Wednesday morning.

McGahn’s exit is not a great surprise—expectations of a departure sometime this fall had circulated for some time, with Kavanaugh’s appointment as the likely bookend. The greater surprise is that McGahn lasted so long in the role, and that he was so effective. He was always a somewhat unorthodox choice; he had an up-and-down relationship with the president, and he has

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