Donald Francis McGahn II (; born June 16, 1968) is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Donald Trump, from the day of Trump's inauguration through October 17, 2018, when McGahn resigned. Previously, McGahn served on the Federal Election Commission for over five years. In November 2019, McGahn received a court order to testify before the U.S House of Representatives. In August 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 7–2 that the House can sue him to comply. Early life and education Don McGahn was born on June 16, 1968 and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the son of Noreen () and Donald F. McGahn. He is a nephew of Joseph McGahn, former Democratic New Jersey State Senator and medical director at Donald Trump's Resorts International, and Atlantic City attorney Patrick McGahn, who had represented Trump's casino interests from 1982 until Trump sued him for alleged overbilling in 1995. Don McGahn attended Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Atlantic City and Holy Spirit High School in nearby Absecon. He briefly attended the United States Naval Academy before transferring to the University of Notre Dame. At the University of Notre Dame he received a B.A. degree in history and computer applications. He obtained his J.D. degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 1994. In 2002, later in his career, he earned an LL.M. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Career After graduation from law school, McGahn worked in campaign finance law at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Patton Boggs. From 1999 to 2008, McGahn was chief counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). George W. Bush nominated McGahn as a Republican-selected member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2008. He was confirmed on June 24, 2008 by the United States Senate and was sworn in shortly thereafter. He is credited as having played a crucial role in loosening regulations on campaign spending. According to documentary footage in the 2018 film Dark Money, McGahn's brief period as incoming chair of the Commission ushered in a newly partisan rigor to the FEC whereby he and his two fellow Republican members, also new, formed an unprecedented lockstep voting bloc preventing any and all enforcement of FEC regulations. McGahn resigned from the FEC in September 2013. After leaving the FEC, McGahn returned to