President Donald Trump last year asked former White House staffer Rob Porter "several times" to replace Don McGahn as White House counsel, according to a report in The New York Times detailing McGahn's exit this fall.
Porter, who resigned in February following allegations of domestic abuse, told the president he did not believe he was qualified for the job. Trump praised Porter upon his departure, and stayed in touch with him after he resigned.
Trump on Wednesday announced McGahn would be leaving his position in the fall, "shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh."
The announcement came after Axios reported some Trump allies feared McGahn gave up too much information to special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators.
The White House's response to Porter's exit was heavily scrutinized, as senior officials claimed they were not aware of the allegations until media reports started surfacing in February. But the FBI said it sent a partial report of "derogatory information" on Porter to McGahn in March 2017.
"White House officials ignored this information and continued granting Porter access to our nation's most highly classified secrets," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement at the time.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.