Yesterday was Don McGahn's last day as White House Counsel. After serving President Trump as campaign counsel during his 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. McGahn served as White House Counsel during the pivotal first half of President Trump's current term. He played a vital role in vetting and recommending attorneys who respect the rule of law to serve as federal judges, including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. With Mr. McGahn's advice, President Trump has nominated and the Senate has confirmed two Supreme Court justices, 29 U.S. Courts of Appeals judges, and 53 U.S. District Court judges. Currently 57 Article III court nominees remain pending before the Senate.
Mr. McGahn's accomplishments were greater than the incredible successes the Trump Administration has enjoyed with judicial confirmations. RNLA's Vice President for Election Education David Warrington wrote earlier on Mr. McGahn:
Having previously run a federal agency, the Federal Election Commission, McGahn understood how bureaucracies resist any threat to institutional power. McGahn’s experience informed the administration’s strategy to remove power from unelected bureaucrats and return it to the duly elected representatives of the people. . . .
Within a week of taking office, the president issued an executive order requiring two regulations to be cut before a new regulation could be promulgated and that the net cost of any new regulations to the federal budget be zero.
This elegantly simple policy helped the Trump administration cut excessive regulations that have been strangling American business and industry. These cuts have led to the record economic growth we are currently experiencing.
Additionally, McGahn was the intellectual force behind the decisions to change legal positions taken by the Obama administration in litigation over ObamaCare, compulsory unionism, redistricting, and regulatory overreach by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Those changes led to further administration successes in limiting the power of the unelected bureaucracy and protecting workers and business from federal overreach.
Prior to joining the White House, Mr. McGahn served on the RNLA's Board of Governors. In 2017, the RNLA gave Mr. McGahn its highest award, the Ed Meese Award, bestowed annually on an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. Mr. McGahn's speech upon receiving the award can be viewed here (starting at 35:25).
Thank you, Mr. McGahn, for serving our country with distinction as White House Counsel and providing sound advice to President Trump on judicial nominees and many other issues.