Pence’s chief lawyer, domestic policy director leaving White House: report

Vice President Pence is losing two top aides amid an expected staff turnover in the Trump administration, according to a CNN report. 

The vice president’s chief counsel, Mark Paoletta, and his domestic policy director, Daris Meeks, are set to leave, CNN reported Friday. Their departures were announced by chief of staff Nick Ayers in a meeting this week.

Paoletta, a high-profile Washington attorney, served as Pence’s top lawyer and was “very involved” in helping nominate Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court last spring, according to CNN. 

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Paoletta will remain in the Trump administration as the counsel for the Office of Management and Budget, CNN reported. Pence’s deputy counsel, Matt Morgan, will take on the chief counsel role.

Meeks, who also worked for Pence when he served in the House, is expected to return to the private sector after his departure, according to CNN. In his capacity as the vice president’s director of domestic policy, Meeks advised Pence on issues like tax reform and health care.

A number of aides have left the White House in recent weeks, a trend that was largely expected as President Trump nears the end of his first year in office.

Among those who have departed are Omarosa Manigault Newman, who served as the director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell.