White House counsel departing as House Republican investigations heat up

The White House has announced its top lawyer will leave next month after nearly three years of serving President Biden as House Republicans continue to investigate the president and his family.

Stuart Delery first joined Biden’s transition team in November 2020 before serving as deputy counsel. He was promoted to the top job in 2022 after Biden’s first counsel, Dana Remus, left the White House.

In a statement Thursday announcing the departure, Biden called Delery a “trusted adviser and a constant source of innovative legal thinking since Day One of my Administration.”

The president added, “From his work during those early days on COVID-19 and efforts to get life-saving vaccines to the American public to the implementation of major legislative accomplishments such as the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act, he has been an integral part of my team and will be missed throughout the Administration.”

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View of The White House in Washington, D.C., on October 20, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Biden also thanked Stuart and his family for his service.

The White House did not announce who would be replacing him as counsel.

Delery’s departure comes as House Republicans have launched multiple investigations into Biden’s son Hunter and the origins of COVID-19. Other Republican lawmakers are pushing to impeach the president — a proposal that lacks mainstream support.

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In addition to these inquiries, Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel to investigate the presence of classified documents that were found in Biden’s possession at two different locations, including the garage at his Delaware home and his former Washington, D.C., office.

In a statement announcing the departure, President Biden called Stuart Delery a “trusted adviser.” (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

Biden’s personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, is handling the classified documents matter, while the White House has about two dozen aides working on the other investigations.

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The departure also comes as White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients asked Cabinet members and senior officials to decide by the end of the summer whether they would remain in their position through 2024 and the election cycle.

An unidentified White House official told The Associated Press that Delery’s departure had been in the works for a while.

Delery was the top adviser who helped Biden craft his student loan handout executive order last year that was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court.

President Biden thanked Stuart Delery, right, and his family for his service. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The White House unsuccessfully argued the COVID-19 pandemic qualified as an emergency that gave the education secretary the legal authority to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision,” such as student loan debt.

The nation’s highest court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the administration overstepped its constitutional authority with the proposal.

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While serving as deputy counsel, before being the chief White House lawyer, Delery played a critical role in advising Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Delery also played a key role in helping the administration put new rules at the U.S.-Mexico border, designed to stop migrants from crossing illegally.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.