Trump Swaps White House Counsel Pick, Tapping David Warrington

President-elect Donald Trump said he would appoint David Warrington as White House counsel, substituting his campaign lawyer for a previously announced pick to serve as the president’s chief in-house lawyer.

Bill McGinley, who Trump announced as White House counsel just three weeks ago, will instead advise the Department of Government Efficiency — a quasi-public body to be led by Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk and former campaign rival Vivek Ramaswamy.

Warrington is a partner at Dhillon Law Group, where he represented Trump on civil and constitutional cases like the effort to ban the president-elect from the ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He’s currently leading an investigation into Boris Epshteyn, the Trump aide accused of seeking payments from people to promote their candidacy for roles in the new administration.

Trump didn’t explain the switch, other than to say that McGinley was “very passionate about” the work of the Musk-Ramaswamy group that will aim to cut federal government spending and regulations.

“Bill is a great addition to a stellar team that is focused on making life better for all Americans. He will be at the forefront of my Administration’s efforts to make our Government more efficient and more accountable,” Trump said on social media.

McGinley was cabinet secretary during Trump’s first term, serving as the White House liaison to the heads of federal departments, and was the Republican National Committee’s election watchdog in 2024.

The White House counsel is not a Senate-confirmed position.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Justin Sink at jsink1@bloomberg.net

Meghashyam Mali, Michelle Jamrisko

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