Former White House Counsel C. Boyden Gray recently spoke with news outlets in support of President-Elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Donald McGahn to serve as White House Counsel.
In a statement reported by Fox News, Gray said, “The Counsel to the President needs solid Washington experience, but also a serious prior relationship with the President that allows for candor, and a practical understanding of how government agencies function. . . . It also is enormously useful to have a working knowledge of government ethics and election law. Donald McGahn possesses all these attributes and can serve President-elect Trump well.”
Gray told Politico that “[h]aving a working understanding of how the White House works and how it intersects with the rest of government . . . is essential. . . . You need to have someone who’s had to live in the intersection of the White House, agencies, Congress and the press and media. . . . That means somebody who has been in the political process. It doesn’t have to be someone from Washington, but people with only corporate law experience, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”