Donald Trump named Donald F McGahn as White House counsel, selecting a seasoned political lawyer who could help navigate the growing scrutiny on potential conflicts of interest between the president-elect’s businesses and his incoming administration.
McGahn, a partner at the Jones Day law firm in Washington and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, had served as an adviser to Trump’s campaign. His specialities include government ethics, the president-elect’s transition team said in a statement on Friday announcing his selection.
“Don has a brilliant legal mind, excellent character and a deep understanding of constitutional law,” said Trump. “He will play a critical role in our administration.”
Even before the president-elect is sworn in as president on January 20th, McGahn will be tasked with helping the real-estate developer navigate an extensive web of business ties and commercial interests that stand as potential conflicts of interest.
Trump’s licensing deals and other businesses have drawn renewed scrutiny since he was elected president yet he said this week in an interview with the New York Times that as a sitting US president, he “can’t have a conflict of interest”.
Executive Orders
The White House counsel is also responsible for preparing executive orders issued by the president, ensuring that they are constitutional. Trump has pledged to rescind many of President Barack Obama’s orders, saying they exceeded his powers, while vowing to issue his own on issues such as restricting immigration from countries compromised by Islamic terrorists.
Trump is in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. Transition officials said that he’ll meet in New York on November 28th with former BBandT Corp chief executive John Allison, who’s said to be a contender for Treasury Secretary and with former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins.
In addition to McGahn’s selection, the transition team announced that Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland was named deputy national security adviser. Neither of the two positions filled on Friday requires confirmation by the Senate. McFarland (65) has a long record of national security experience, serving as deputy assistant secretary of defence for public affairs in the early 1980s under then president Ronald Reagan.
Oldest children
On the conflict questions McGahn will face at the White House, Trump told the New York Times that he was in the process of extricating himself from his business relationships, and would have his oldest children, Donald jnr, Eric and Ivanka, take over the management of his businesses.
Yet the interview, in which Trump said he was surprised to learn there were no laws requiring him to transfer assets to a blind trust, raised more questions over how he’ll handle his business empire after taking office.
Recent media reports singled out the president-elect’s links to a Philippine developer who has been appointed that nation’s envoy to the US; disclosed that Trump took a break from transition planning to meet with three business partners building Trump-branded towers in India; and said that Ivanka Trump sat in on a meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Bloomberg