Trump Picks Pat Cipollone as New White House Counsel

Former Justice Department attorney Pat Cipollone is expected to be named by President Donald Trump as White House counsel, replacing Don McGahn, Axios reported on Saturday, citing four people it didn’t identify.

McGahn has been tipped to leave the administration soon after Trump’s second Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh, was confirmed. McGahn has had a tumultuous tenure at the White House, marked by questions over his handling of security clearances and his involvement as a key figure in investigations into Russian election meddling.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Washington Post reported in August that Trump had interviewed Cipollone, a partner at the Washington law firm Stein Mitchell Cipollone Beato & Missner who served at the Justice Department during the George H. W. Bush administration. Cipollone has begun the process of filling out paperwork for the White House post, Axios reported.

Trump has also considered former Special Counsel Emmet Flood and former Fannie Mae general counsel Brian Brooks to succeed McGahn, according to earlier Axios reports.