The loss of Mr. McGahn will further whittle down the list of people in the West Wing who are willing to say no to Mr. Trump. Within the White House, Mr. McGahn was seen as the protector of presidential institutions and as a guardrail who was willing to tell the president when he should not take certain actions. Mr. McGahn was not afraid to fight the president and had several epic screaming matches with him over the months he worked in the White House.
Mr. Trump often griped that he wanted to get rid of Mr. McGahn, but the president never seemed willing to follow through and dismiss him. The president asked Rob Porter, then the staff secretary, several times last year if he would be willing to take over for Mr. McGahn, including after John F. Kelly became the chief of staff in July 2017. Mr. Porter told the president he did not believe that he was qualified for the role, those briefed on the discussions said, and he has since left the White House amid accusations of spousal abuse.
Mr. Trump often blamed Mr. McGahn for the cloud the special counsel’s investigation had cast over the White House. He said Mr. McGahn should have done more to stop Mr. Sessions from recusing himself from the investigation, the decision Mr. Trump believes allowed Mr. Mueller to be appointed in May 2017.
Still, despite his reputation for being brave enough to tell Mr. Trump no, there was one major event Mr. McGahn could not stop: the firing of the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey. After failing to persuade Mr. Trump not to dismiss Mr. Comey, Mr. McGahn worked with Mr. Sessions and the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, to come up with a rationale for the dismissal. Eight days after Mr. Comey was fired, Mr. Mueller was appointed as the special counsel.
Mr. McGahn, who was the top lawyer for the Trump campaign, also forged a strong bond with Republican congressional leaders, who regarded him as a rare island of political sense in a sea of White House officials whom they viewed as overly dramatic and politically inept. He had considered resigning repeatedly, according to people who have spoken with him, but stayed on in part at the urging of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader from Kentucky, and to execute a strategy he spearheaded to appoint conservative judges. Mr. McGahn is also loyal to Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, Mr. Kelly.
Mr. McGahn had tried to lay the groundwork for his resignation, persuading Mr. Trump to hire Emmet T. Flood — who represented Bill Clinton in impeachment proceedings — as his lead White House lawyer dealing with the special counsel inquiry, to position Mr. Flood to then succeed him, according to people close to the discussions.
