The latest personnel struggle echoed an attempt by Mr. Mulvaney several weeks ago to hire former Representative Trey Gowdy, a fellow South Carolina Republican, to join the president’s legal team. Mr. Cipollone and others were said to take issue with the idea, concerned it was an effort by Mr. Mulvaney to run his own legal team. Mr. Cipollone told allies he had no such concerns, but eventually, Mr. Gowdy bowed out, facing an issue with a ban on former House members lobbying Congress.
Despite his own tenuous job status, Mr. Mulvaney has privately told associates in recent days that there is no easy way for Mr. Trump to fire him in the midst of the impeachment fight, the implication being that he knows too much about the president’s pressure campaign to force Ukraine to provide incriminating information about Democrats.
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