Attorney General Nominee William Barr’s Son-in-Law to Join White House Counsel’s Office: Report

Attorney General nominee William Barr’s daughter and son-in-law are both reportedly leaving their positions in the Justice Department as Barr awaits a Senate vote on his confirmation. Mary Daly—Barr’s eldest daughter and the director of Opioid Enforcement and Prevention Efforts in the Deputy Attorney General’s Office—is taking a position at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Treasury Department’s financial-crimes unit, according to CNN. Tyler McGaughey, the husband of Barr’s youngest daughter, will leave the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, for the White House counsel’s office, two officials told CNN. The moves were not required under federal nepotism laws, but Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, called them “a good idea” to “avoid the bad optics that could come from the appearance of them working for him.” He also noted, however, that McGaughey’s move to the White House legal team was “concerning.”