The House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry into President Trump are seeking testimony from Robert Blair, an assistant to the President and senior adviser to White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, a source familiar with the request told CNN.
The committees investigating Trump have requested Blair — who was on the line during Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president — come testify about White House policy toward Ukraine.
Why this matters: He is the first current West Wing official known to have been asked to come testify.
The committees are still in talks with Blair, and it is not clear if he will agree to testify voluntarily. House committees have already needed to issue subpoenas to current and former administration officials because of White House efforts to block their testimony.
Blair and the White House did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.
The request raises the prospect of more depositions even as the committees prepare to move toward the public phase of this impeachment inquiry.
Who is Blair: Blair, who previously served as associate director for national security programs in the Office of Management and Budget, followed Mulvaney to the West Wing in January as his national security adviser after he became acting chief of staff.
While Mulvaney was not on the call, Blair was one of just a small group of officials on the line during Trump’s controversial call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Before joining the Trump administration, Blair served as staff director on the House Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations.