WHITE House counsel Don McGahn, whose relationship with President Donald Trump has been strained by the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, is set to leave the job in coming weeks.

Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday that McGahn would step down after the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That was widely expected to occur before the court begins its next term in early October.

McGahn will be the latest senior adviser to leave Trump’s side, underscoring the White House’s persistent turmoil. But it also may open the way for a replacement who Trump would see as more willing to do battle against the Russia investigation team led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

McGahn did not know the president’s tweet was coming, an administration official said, but he had been planning to leave the White House because he felt he had made his mark in getting conservatives named to federal judgeships, rolling back regulations and reeling in the bureaucracy.

(SD-Agencies)