President Trump Adds to the White House Counsel Staff

Perhaps, he’s preparing for the fights to come over policies and agendas with the Washington, D.C., establishment.

Perhaps, there’s something more to it we’re not yet aware of. Regardless of the reason, the White House announced Tuesday it had hired 26 new staffers for the Office of White House Counsel.

The following is a summary of the new hires:

Greg Katsas serves as deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Katsas was a partner at Jones Day. He has argued more than 75 appeals, including cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and every Federal appellate court. Mr. Katsas briefed and argued the landmark constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Prior to Jones Day, Mr. Katsas served in senior positions in the U.S. Department of Justice, including assistant attorney general for the Civil Division and acting associate attorney general. In these positions, he handled or supervised most of the Federal Government’s leading civil appeals and oversaw the Civil Division’s enforcement activities under the False Claims Act and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Mr. Katsas was awarded the Edmund Randolph award for outstanding service, the highest award bestowed by the Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, Mr. Katsas served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Edward Becker of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Katsas earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was executive editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Makan Delrahim serves as deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Delrahim served as a partner at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Los Angeles office and also as an adjunct professor of law at Pepperdine University. Earlier in his career, Mr. Delrahim served as deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, overseeing the Appellate, International and Policy sections of the Division. Prior to the Department of Justice, he served as the chief counsel and staff director to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Delrahim earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, his master’s from Johns Hopkins University and his J.D from George Washington University, where he served on the Journal of International Law and Economics. 

Annie Donaldson serves as deputy assistant to the president, special counsel to the president and chief of staff for the Office of the White House Counsel. Most recently, Ms. Donaldson was an associate at Jones Day, where she practiced political law. Ms. Donaldson has worked on the last three presidential campaigns and represented numerous campaigns, officeholders and others involved in the political process. Earlier in her career, she served in state government. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a Supreme Court chair for the Harvard Law Review and executive editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

John Eisenberg serves as deputy assistant to the president, National Security Council legal adviser, and deputy counsel to the president for National Security Affairs. From 2006-2009, Mr. Eisenberg served as a senior national security official at the U.S. Department of Justice. There, both as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel and as an associate deputy attorney general, Mr. Eisenberg advised the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council and the Counsel to the President on complex national security matters. During his time at the Justice Department, Mr. Eisenberg won several awards, including the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security. As a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Mr. Eisenberg’s practice focused on white-collar, complex civil litigation and data-security issues. Mr. Eisenberg served as a Law Clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Michael Luttig, then of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was articles editor for the Yale Law Journal.

Stefan Passantino serves as deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the President. Most recently, Mr. Passantino served as Chair of the Dentons Political Law team, where he represented corporations, interest groups, political figures and other entities with respect to ethics, election law, pay-to-play compliance and state and federal lobbying laws. Mr. Passantino has served as counsel to numerous prominent political figures across the political spectrum, including serving as chief campaign counsel for Senators Johnny Isakson and Roy Blunt and several members of the U.S House of Representatives. Mr. Passantino earned his bachelor’s degree from Drew University and his J.D. from the Emory University School of Law, where he was a managing editor of the Emory Law Journal.

Jim Carroll serves as special assistant to the president and senior counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Carroll served as Washington counsel to the Ford Motor Company. Prior to Ford, Mr. Carroll served as deputy general counsel and acting general counsel to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Earlier in his career, Mr. Carroll served in the White House as assistant ethics counsel and special assistant and associate counsel to the president during President George W. Bush’s administration. Mr. Carroll also served the U.S. Department of Justice as attorney adviser and later as legal counsel. Mr. Carroll earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

Stacy Cline Amin serves as special assistant to the president and associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Ms. Amin served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and before that as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. Earlier in her career, Ms. Amin served as a law clerk to Judge John R. Gibson of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Amin earned her bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as chief article editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Rene Augustine serves as special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Ms. Augustine served as associate counsel to president George W. Bush and senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Earlier in her career, Ms. Augustine served as a law clerk to Judge John Hargrove of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, an associate with Covington & Burling and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University Law School. Ms. Augustine earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was an editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review, served on the Vanderbilt Moot Court Board and graduated Order of the Coif.

John Bash serves as special assistant to the president and associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Bash served as an assistant to the solicitor general, arguing 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bash served as an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and, before that, as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Bash earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. 

James Burnham serves as special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Burnham served as an associate at Jones Day, where he primarily handled litigation against the federal government. In particular, Mr. Burnham successfully represented former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell in McDonnell v. United States(a major challenge to the scope of the federal corruption laws) and the Noel Canning Corporation in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning(a major constitutional challenge to several recess appointments by President Obama). Mr. Burnham has also served as a lecturer-in-law at the University of Chicago Law School, and, earlier in his career, as a law clerk to Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and his J.D. from the University of Chicago, where he was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. 

Jed Doty serves as associate counsel to the President. Most recently, Mr. Doty served as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. Earlier in his career, Mr. Doty served as a law clerk to Judge Jose A. Cabranes of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and to Judge Diane S. Sykes of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Doty earned his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Uttam Dhillon serves as special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Dhillon served as Chief Oversight Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Prior to that, Mr. Dhillon was a partner with the Dallas law firm of Fitzpatrick Hagood Smith & Uhl. In 2006, Mr. Dhillon was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to head the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement. Mr. Dhillon has served in the U.S. Department of Justice as an associate deputy attorney general and as an assistant United States attorney in Los Angeles. He has also served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the chief counsel and deputy staff director for the Select Committee on Homeland Security, the Policy Director for the Republican Policy Committee and as a senior investigative counsel to the vice chairman for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mr. Dhillon earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Sacramento, his master’s from the University of California, San Diego, and his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Michael Ellis serves as special assistant to the president, senior associate counsel to the president and deputy National Security Council legal adviser. Most recently, Mr. Ellis served as general counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to joining the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Ellis was a law clerk to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and to Judge Amul Thapar of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ellis served as an associate director in the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Mr. Ellis is also an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve. Mr. Ellis earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Yale Law School. 

Daniel Epstein serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Epstein served as Executive Director of Cause of Action, an organization he founded and led in litigation and investigations of cronyism, corruption and abuse in government. Earlier in his career, Mr. Epstein served the U.S. House of Representatives as counsel for Oversight and Investigations for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mr. Epstein earned his bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College and his J.D. from Emory University, where he was a member of the Emory International Law Review.

Scott Gast serves as special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Gast served as investigative counsel to the Office of Congressional Ethics. Prior to joining the Office of Congressional Ethics, Mr. Gast was an attorney at the law firm Covington & Burling, where his practice focused on political law and white collar criminal defense and investigations. Mr. Gast earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review.

Chris Grieco serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Grieco served as majority counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Judiciary Committee’s Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Subcommittee. Earlier in his career, Mr. Grieco served as a law clerk to Judge Edith Brown Clement of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Grieco earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Stanford University Law School.

Rob Luther serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Luther served as counsel to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Earlier in his career, Mr. Luther served as a law clerk to Judge Daniel A. Manion of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and as an adjunct professor of Law at William & Mary Law School. Mr. Luther earned his bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College and his J.D. from the Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law.

Stuart McCommas serves as deputy associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. McCommas worked as an associate at Paul Hastings. Earlier in his career, Mr. McCommas served as a law clerk to Judge Alice Batchelder of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. McCommas earned his bachelor’s degree from Grove City College and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review.

Mike McGinley serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. McGinley was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Earlier in his career, Mr. McGinley served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. McGinley earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was Supreme Court Chair of the Harvard Law Review.

John Moran serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Moran was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Earlier in his career, Mr. Moran served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Moran earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

David Morrell serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Morrell served as an associate at Jones Day. Earlier in his career, Mr. Morrell served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and to then-Chief Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Morrell earned his bachelor’s degree from Hillsdale College and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Claire Murray serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Ms. Murray was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis, Ms. Murray served as an attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a special assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Earlier in her career, Ms. Murray served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Murray earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales and her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was an articles editor for the Yale Law Journal and a Coker Fellow.

Brian Rabbitt serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Rabbitt was an associate at Williams & Connolly. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rabbitt served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and to Judge Henry E. Hudson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mr. Rabbitt earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as the articles editor for The Virginia Journal of International Law and served on the William Minor Lile Moot Court Board.

Schuyler Schouten serves as special assistant to the president and associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Schouten was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Previously, he was the principal policy aide to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and research associate for Dr. Kissinger’s bestselling books World Order and On China. Mr. Schouten earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an Ames Moot Court Competition Finalist.

James Schultz serves as special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Schultz was chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Government Law and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group. Prior to joining Cozen & O’Connor, Mr. Schultz served as general counsel of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he provided legal counsel to the governor and his executive staff and managed a legal organization of nearly 500 lawyers who served as counsel to 36 executive agencies and independent boards and commissions. Mr. Schultz earned his bachelor’s degree from Temple University and his J.D. from Widener University School of Law.

John Walk serves as associate counsel to the president. Most recently, Mr. Walk served as an attorney-adviser at the Transportation Security Administration after serving in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, Mr. Walk was a senior government relations adviser at Kilpatrick Stockton. Earlier in his career, Mr. Walk served as a congressional staffer to several members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Walk earned his bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. {eoa}