Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney abruptly changed course Tuesday morning and ended plans to file a lawsuit asking the courts to rule on how he should respond to a House subpoena demanding his testimony in the impeachment inquiry.

In a filing Tuesday, Mulvaney’s lawyer said the acting chief of staff now intends to simply follow the instruction of the president, who has issued a broad directive barring aides from participating in the impeachment inquiry. Some current and former aides have nonetheless chosen to comply with subpoenas from Congress. Others, such as former White House national security adviser John Bolton, have indicated they would look to the courts for guidance on competing demands from two branches of government.

Tuesday’s court filing by Mulvaney came amid growing rancor inside the White House over how to respond to the impeachment investigation. And it was the latest in a series of high-profile course changes by Mulvaney as he comes under fire from Capitol Hill and from present and former colleagues in the White House.

On Monday, Mulvaney’s legal team had notified the court that he planned to file his own lawsuit against the House seeking court guidance on how to respond to a subpoena for his testimony. The lawsuit, his lawyer said, would be related to one filed earlier by Bolton’s top deputy, Charles Kupperman.

Mulvaney’s lawyers noted in a court filing Tuesday that “after further consideration,” Mulvaney had decided not to go to court at all. “Rather he will rely on the direction of the President, as supported by an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, in not appearing” before the House, Mulvaney’s lawyers said.

Mulvaney’s initial effort to join the Kupperman lawsuit rankled Bolton and Kupperman because they had cited Mulvaney as a critical player in the effort to press the Ukrainian government to pursue investigations helpful to Trump’s domestic political agenda, a move they viewed as improper.

Before launching his legal maneuvers last weekend, Mulvaney had already drawn scorn from people inside and outside the White House for his Oct. 17 news conference. He publicly acknowledged that White House pressure for Ukraine to provide information on that country’s role in the 2016 U.S. election played a part in the United States holding up military aid to Ukraine — essentially confirming Democrats’ accusations in front of television cameras and reporters.

Later, he issued a statement saying the media had misconstrued his televised comments and that “there was absolutely no quid pro quo.”

Late last week, he stunned some White House allies again by announcing he would join Kupperman’s lawsuit, which was filed against the House of Representatives and the president. In explaining the surprising decision to initially try to join Kupperman’s lawsuit, his lawyer, William Pittard, said his client wanted to sue the House and ask the court for answers. Pittard said that before going to court, he had checked with the White House Counsel’s Office and received no objection to proceeding. Over the weekend, Pittard said, asking the courts for relief was necessary because of the top legal position of his client.

“As acting chief of staff, Mr. Mulvaney intends to follow any lawful order of the president and has no reason to think that the order at issue is unlawful — other than the fact the House has threatened him with charges of contempt and obstruction for following it,” he said Saturday.

Outside legal experts saw Mulvaney’s initial request to the courts as an effort to provide legal cover for a person who was potentially vulnerable because of his private actions and public statements related to Ukraine.