Current White House counsel Donald McGahn had butted heads with the president and planned to leave his post after Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images White House Cipollone to replace McGahn as top White House lawyer

President Donald Trump is expected to name veteran Washington lawyer Pat Cipollone to replace White House counsel Donald McGahn, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Cipollone, a commercial litigator at Stein Mitchell Cipollone & Missner, is a former Justice Department attorney who served under President George H.W. Bush. He’s expected to start the job within two weeks, pending a security review.


He’ll be taking on a tough job at a pivotal moment. The White House counsel’s office has been beset by departures, including several of its top deputies, and Trump could be hit with an onslaught of congressional investigations if Democrats take control of the House next year.

Democrats already are planning to hit the Trump administration with a blitz of subpoenas and requests for information and testimony. Cipollone will need to develop the president’s political and legal response to those investigations at the same time the 2020 presidential campaign kicks into gear.

“He’s a brilliant lawyer and tremendous strategist and understands the intricate nature of the political process,” said Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s personal lawyers.

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A White House spokesman would not confirm the appointment.

Cipollone did not respond to a request for comment. The appointment was first reported by Axios.

Asked Saturday whether Cipollone was “at the top of the list“ for new White House counsel, Trump said, "Pat's a great guy. I don't want to say, but he's a great guy. He's a very talented and he's a very good man, but I don't want to say."

Cipollone has a record of handling complex litigation and class action lawsuits. He has represented corporations in government investigations and regulatory disputes, and was among the lawyers who sued credit reporting company Equifax last year on behalf of consumers affected by a massive data breach. In 2015, he brought a lawsuit against CVS for overcharging insurers for generic pharmaceuticals.

He is a co-founder of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and serves on the board of the Catholic Information Center, a theologically conservative lay group led by Father Charles Trullols, an administration insider who has offered Mass in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.

McGahn had advised Trump on judicial nominees and helped shepherd dozens of judges through confirmation. But he had butted heads with the president and planned to leave his post after Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump announced McGahn’s departure in an August tweet.