McGahn ‘Surprised’ By Trump Announcement Of His Departure: ‘Of Course It Happened This Way’

on August 23, 2018 in Washington, DC. — WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 23: White House Counsel Don McGahn (C) prepares to join Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh for a meeting with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in the Hart Senate Office Building on Cap... WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 23: White House Counsel Don McGahn (C) prepares to join Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh for a meeting with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill August 23, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump's pick to replace the retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh is meeting with Republican and Democratic senators ahead of his September confirmation hearing. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS

August 29, 2018 1:28 p.m.

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While it was common knowledge in the White House that counsel Don McGahn planned to depart after Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, McGahn was “surprised” by Trump’s abrupt tweet announcing his departure, The Washington Post reported.

According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Post, McGahn was not angered by Trump’s tweeted, but rather saw it as the exact way he’d expect the Twitter President to behave.

“Of course it happened this way,” McGahn reportedly said, according to a person familiar with McGahn.

Trump announced on Wednesday that McGahn would leave the White House after Kavanaugh’s confirmation, following reports from Axios early Wednesday morning suggesting as much.

Trump’s legal team was reportedly surprised to learn earlier this month that McGahn had been fully cooperative with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and had sat for 30 hours of interviews. Trump was also reportedly at odds with the White House counsel because McGahn opposed Trump’s interest in pardoning his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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