William McGinley is the former

White House Cabinet secretary The White House cabinet secretary is a high-ranking position within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The White House cabinet secretary is the head of the Office of Cabinet Affairs (OCA) within the White House Office and ...

in the first administration of

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. He is an American lawyer and a former partner at the law firm

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm based in Washington, D.C. As of 2023, it is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with 2,302 attorneys, and among the highest-grossing in the world with revenues of $2.5 billion. Foun ...

where he represented federal office holders, candidates, and national organizations on

campaign finance Campaign financealso called election finance, political donations, or political financerefers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Donors and recipients include individuals, corpor ...

, ethics, and other political law matters. On December 4, 2024, Trump announced that McGinley would serve as counsel to the

Department of Government Efficiency The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is an initiative by the second Trump administration within the federal government of the United States. Its stated objective is to modernize information technology, maximize productivity, and cut ...

(DOGE) in his second administration.

Biography

McGinley received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in history from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

and his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in history from

California State University at Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1997. Following law school, McGinley served as Deputy General Counsel to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

(RNC) and was counsel to the Standing Committee on Rules of the RNC. He also served as general counsel to the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to the Senate. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reor ...

. McGinley worked for the law firm

Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with over 40 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C.–based Patton Boggs. It is one of the largest law firms in ...

where he became a partner and co-chair of the

Election Law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management ...

Practice Group. Afterwards, he became a partner at

. McGinley was counsel to the Convention Rules Committee of the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former Governor of Massachusetts, Massachuset ...

. During the convention he pushed the credentials committee to replace 10

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

delegates for

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

with 10 who supported

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

. McGinley was hired by the Donald Trump presidential campaign in April 2016. He was expected to act as a campaign advisor during the delegate selection battles and on potential challenges to the credentials of

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...

delegates. After the election, McGinley was appointed White House Cabinet secretary and began work on January 20, 2017. He resigned in July 2019, and he subsequently joined the Vogel Group. In March 2024, McGinley joined an RNC election integrity team headed by

Christina Bobb Christina Bobb (born November 4, 1982) is an American lawyer, television personality and Republican Party official. She gained prominence for her television promotion of president Donald Trump and involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 U. ...

, serving as outside counsel. On November 12, 2024, McGinley was selected to serve as White House counsel to President Trump. On December 4, Trump announced that McGinley would instead serve as counsel to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). On January 23, 2025, McGinley will depart from the Department of Government Efficiency and go back to private practice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGinley, Bill Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni California State University, Long Beach alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Jones Day people American lawyers Second Trump administration personnel First Trump administration personnel