Obama names new White House counsel
Neil Eggleston, a Kirkland & Ellis partner in Washington, D.C., was named as White House counsel Monday.
The litigator also served as White House counsel for president Clinton during the Whitewater congressional hearings, the Los Angeles Times reports, and he was deputy chief counsel of the House Iran-Contra Committee.
Eggleston, previously a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, was also an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
According to the article, there’s some speculation that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will retire next year. If she does, Eggleston will be tasked with drawing up a list of potential replacements.
Eggleston replaces Kathryn Ruemmler, who according to Politico plans to return to private practice. She was reportedly instrumental in changing filibuster rules to allow for confirmation of stalled judicial nominees, and she advised the president on making recess appointments during pro forma sessions of the Senate. That issue is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
