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December 6, 2024
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Trump will not attend Biden’s inauguration 

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone listens during a Supreme Court confirmation hearing at the Capitol on October 14, 2020.
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone listens during a Supreme Court confirmation hearing at the Capitol on October 14, 2020. Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is considering resigning, two sources familiar tell CNN.

Since the election, he had considered resigning multiple times, but has been urged to stay for the good of the country by members of the Senate and the Cabinet.

“He’s there out of a sense of duty,” one source said.

Despite being at loggerheads with the President in recent weeks, he has been influential behind the scenes this week with having the national guard deployed and encouraging Trump to be more forceful in his statements.

Cipollone was also among those advising the President that he could be removed from office – via the 25th Amendment or impeachment – if he did not more forcefully denounce the actions of his supporters who attacked the US Capitol. He had also pushed backed on the legality of strategies Trump floated with other attorneys, such as Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, as a means to disputing the 2020 presidential election results.

“Pat is a true public servant dedicated to the rule of law and his country,” another source close to Cipollone said. 

Some context: Cipollone’s exit would add to a growing list of Trump administration officials, which now includes Cabinet members, who have resigned from their government roles since the Capitol siege.

Cipollone defended the President during his first impeachment proceedings, but his potential exit raises questions about who would represent Trump if current impeachment talks pick up steam. Cipollone’s participation is now highly unlikely.