McGahn ‘Surprised’ By Trump Announcement Of His Departure: ‘Of Course It Happened This Way’
While it was common knowledge in the White House that counsel Don McGahn planned to depart after Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, McGahn was “surprised” by Trump’s abrupt tweet announcing his departure, The Washington Post reported.
According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Post, McGahn was not angered by Trump’s tweeted, but rather saw it as the exact way he’d expect the Twitter President to behave.
“Of course it happened this way,” McGahn reportedly said, according to a person familiar with McGahn.
Trump announced on Wednesday that McGahn would leave the White House after Kavanaugh’s confirmation, following reports from Axios early Wednesday morning suggesting as much.
Trump’s legal team was reportedly surprised to learn earlier this month that McGahn had been fully cooperative with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and had sat for 30 hours of interviews. Trump was also reportedly at odds with the White House counsel because McGahn opposed Trump’s interest in pardoning his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.