Don McGahn Officially Steps Down As White House Counsel After Helping Donald Trump Reshape Judiciary

Don McGahn has officially left his role as White House counsel.

Citing a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Time reported that Wednesday was McGahn’s last day in office.

McGahn left the White House after nearly two years of helping President Donald Trump with his conservative agenda.

Trump announced in August that McGahn would leave after Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Following news of McGahn’s departure, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that McGahn will be a big loss for the Trump administration.

“Don is the most impressive White House Counsel during my time in Washington, and I’ve known them all,” McConnell said in a statement, according to The Hill.

“Don’s significance to the judiciary, the White House and the nation cannot be overstated.”

McGahn is a top election lawyer, who served as general counsel in the president’s election campaign. He has helped pad deregulations at the Environmental Protection Agency and worked on the legal debate involving Trump’s Muslim travel ban.

He also served as the main point of contact inside the White House for special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 election.

McGahn’s legacy is nonetheless most associated with helping the Trump administration reshape the judiciary.

According to the New York Times, McGahn held a pivotal role in the Trump administration’s plan to fill the federal appellate courts with young and deeply conservative judges even before the president took office.

As directed by Trump, McGahn mapped out the potential nominees and the strategy to reshape the judiciary as well as helped the current administration nominate several conservative judges to federal courts across the country.

McGahn concluded his tenure at the White House with the successful confirmation of Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court on Oct. 6. He was among Kavanaugh’s most ardent defenders within the administration amid sexual misconduct allegations.

Even with McGahn’s departure, the White House now continues to confirm more conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels. Besides Kavanaugh, Trump has also tapped Neil Gorsuch for the most powerful court of the nation as well as 29 circuit judges and a number of others to the district courts.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Washington Post reported that McGahn met with the president to say goodbye on his last day.

Trump confirmed on Tuesday that Washington, D.C., lawyer Pat Cipollone will replace McGahn as White House counsel.