Careers
RNC election lawyer, a ‘very genial guy,’ will be new White House counsel
Former Jones Day partner William “Bill” McGinley is a former BigLaw lawyer who worked as the Republican National Committee’s outside counsel for election integrity in the 2024 presidential campaign. (Photo by CQ Roll Call via the Associated Press)
The White House counsel in the new Trump administration is a former BigLaw lawyer who worked as the Republican National Committee’s outside counsel for election integrity in the 2024 presidential campaign.
President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of former Jones Day partner William “Bill” McGinley on Tuesday. It will be McGinley’s second White House job. In the prior Trump administration, he was Cabinet secretary until July 2019, working as a primary liaison between the White House and the Cabinet.
Publications with coverage of McGinley’s appointment include Bloomberg Law, Politico, the New York Times, USA Today and CNN.
As White House counsel, Politico reports, McGinley “will likely be among Trump’s closest advisers.” He will provide advice on policy issues, government ethics, congressional oversight and presidential powers. He is also expected to be “the primary conduit” between Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice, the article says.
McGinley has been “a vocal supporter” of Trump, according to the New York Times. He has the backing of some Trump allies who would like to see more aggressive lawyers working for Trump than in the past, the article says.
McGinley is currently a partner at Holtzman Vogel in Washington, D.C., which has a “well-respected stable of political lawyers,” according to CNN. He was a partner at Jones Day for nearly three years and was formerly an associate, of counsel and a partner at the law firm then known as Patton Boggs (now called Squire Patton Boggs), according to his LinkedIn page.
CNN spoke with Jan Baran, a colleague at Holtzman Vogel, who said McGinley is a “very genial guy” who is “not a publicity hound.”
“I really don’t know anyone who dislikes him or has a complaint about him,” Baran said. “I’ve never seen friction in his dealings with other clients or with other lawyers.”
Jessica Furst Johnson, another Holtzman Vogel lawyer, told CNN that McGinley is well-suited for his new White House role because of his “skill set” and his past experience working with Trump.
McGinley “was the attorney I called when I had a precarious situation. He was really good at righting the ship,” Johnson said.
In a statement, Trump described McGinley as “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”
