UPDATE 3: The Washington Post:
Flood’s legal colleagues said the unusual inside knowledge he learned working the Clinton case, combined with a career spent navigating complex legal matters that also involve tricky political calculations, have made him a natural choice to join President Trump’s legal team.
(...)
People who know Flood say he is a thorough, straight-arrow attorney who bears a deep skepticism of overreach by the government and its prosecutors.
“He feels strongly that this whole investigation is essentially an attempt to undermine an election,” said a Flood confidant, one of a number of his colleagues who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the Russia investigation. “He doesn’t like the idea of an independent counsel.”
(...)
Flood had first discussed leaving his firm and joining the White House Counsel’s Office nearly a year ago, in the weeks after Mueller was appointed and Trump was beefing up his legal team to respond. He interviewed then for the job he has now accepted, a position on the White House staff in which his primary responsibility will be to defend the institution of the presidency, rather than Trump personally.
He was a favorite of White House Counsel Donald McGahn, a longtime Flood friend, but he initially declined the post after clashing with Marc Kasowitz, the combative New York lawyer who at the time served as Trump’s chief personal lawyer.
Kasowitz, however, was soon replaced by John Dowd, who brought on Cobb to serve as the White House’s point person on the Mueller probe. But Dowd resigned in March, prompting a total overhaul of Trump’s team that has now led to Flood’s hiring.
New Trump lawyer has the perfect résumé to take on Russia case, colleagues say (WaPo)
UPDATE 2: White House confirms Cobb's departure and Flood's arrival.
UPDATE: From CNN's Chief White House Correspondent:
The New York Times reports White House Special Counsel Ty Cobb is retiring, and the White House is planning to replace him with Emmet Flood, the lawyer who represented President Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings.
In a phone interview, Mr. Cobb said he informed the president weeks ago that he wanted to retire. He said he planned to stay at the White House, likely through the end of the month, to help Mr. Flood transition into the new job.
“It has been an honor to serve the country in this capacity at the White House,” he said. “I wish everybody well moving forward.”
Mr. Flood is expected to take a more adversarial approach to the investigation than Mr. Cobb, who had pushed Mr. Trump to strike a cooperative tone. Mr. Flood initially spoke with the White House last summer about working for the president, but the talks ultimately fell apart because Mr. Flood did not want to deal with Mr. Trump’s longtime New York lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, who was overseeing the president’s dealings with the special counsel at the time.
The Times story does make a note of acknowledging Flood's hiring is not yet final.
Mr. Flood was part of a team of lawyers who represented Mr. Clinton during his impeachment proceedings. Though he did not have a high-profile role, Mr. Flood did attend the Senate’s deposition of Mr. Clinton’s lawyer and confidant, Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
He was also the lead lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office during George W. Bush’s second term in dealing with congressional investigations, including the examination of the Bush administration’s decision to dismiss seven United States attorneys. In private practice, Mr. Flood represented former Vice President Dick Cheney.
(...)
Mr. Cobb, a longtime white-collar defense lawyer, was not a supporter of the Trump campaign and never viewed himself as part of that team. He has donated money to both Republicans and Democrats and supported Jeb Bush for president in the 2016 election.
He joked that he had “rocks in his head” as he took the job, and told friends that he expected to stay at the White House only as long as it took to turn over all the information to Mr. Mueller and arrange staff interviews with prosecutors. That job is nearly complete, with only Mr. Trump’s interview with prosecutors still being negotiated.
Full story: Trump to Add Clinton Impeachment Lawyer Emmet Flood to Replace Ty Cobb (New York Times)