President Obama's 'Legal Protector' to Exit by Year's End

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- President Barack Obama's White House attorney plans to leave for private practice by the end of the year.

HOUSTON - MAY 15: Prosecutor Kathryn Ruemmler arrives at the Bob Casey U.S. Courthouse for the fraud and conspiracy trial of former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling May 15, 2006 in Houston, Texas. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin today. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has worked for the Obama administration since the first day, serving as the “legal protector,” as the Washington Post puts it, of President Obama and his top appointees.

In fact, as the Post notes, her office has “served as a response center for investigations of the White House, including the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups and last fall's deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.”

She has told President Obama she plans to leave government service and look for a job in New York.

“It makes sense,” an individual who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post. “She’s been at the White House counsel’s office for three years, and started with the administration at the beginning, in 2009.”

She reportedly planned to leave at the end of 2012, but was apparently talked out of it.

The 42-year-old former prosecutor is a member of the president's national security team and advises him on a wide range of legal issues, including his health care law, immigration, and judicial appointees.

She is also a member of President Obama’s national security team and has been involved in various counterterrorism efforts.

Her departure was first reported by Politico and confirmed by the White House.

She was promoted to her current job in 2011, after serving as the No. 2 in the counsel's office. Before that, she was a top political appointee at the Justice Department.

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Featured image AP photo.

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