Donald Trump has changed his mind about his White House’s top lawyer, elevating David Warrington to the role of White House counsel just three weeks after initially giving the jobto veteran GOP lawyer William McGinley.
The president-elect called Warrington “an esteemed lawyer and Conservative leader,” in a post on Truth Social announcing the selection.
In a separate post, Trump said McGinley would instead work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on their unofficial effort to recommend reforms and cuts to government spending, which they’ve dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Bill is a great addition to a stellar team that is focused on making life better for all Americans,” Trump said in the post. “He will be at the forefront of my Administration’s efforts to make our Government more efficient and more accountable.”
The rationale for the switch was not immediately clear. Warrington has weathered a slew of legal battles for Trump in recent years, serving as his attorney in the fight against a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee, as well as a handful of civil lawsuits stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He also served as the Trump campaign’s top lawyer.
Warrington, a George Mason University law school graduate and Marine Corps veteran, becomes the latest member of Trump’s stable of personal lawyers to take a high-ranking job in his administration. Trump has tapped his criminal defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove to senior Justice Department positions, appellate lawyer Dean Sauer as solicitor general, Will Scharf as staff secretary and Doug Collins, also a former GOP member of Congress, as secretary of veterans affairs.
