Trump names Will Scharf as White House counsel ahead of midterms
President Trump has elevated longtime legal ally Will Scharf from White House Staff Secretary to White House counsel, replacing David Warrington effective September 1.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Trump names Will Scharf, currently White House Staff Secretary and a member of his personal legal team, as his next White House counsel. The move places a trusted lawyer at the center of administration legal strategy months before midterm elections that could shift congressional oversight power.
Imagine the president has a big team of helpers. One of them, Will Scharf, has been the person who hands the president papers to sign every day. Now the president is promoting him to be the team's top lawyer. He'll help decide what to do when other people sue the government or when Congress asks tough questions, especially because big elections are coming in November.
Analysis
Will Scharf
Scharf's trajectory mirrors the pattern Trump has used to fill the upper tiers of his administration with personal lawyers. A former federal prosecutor, Scharf joined Trump's legal team in 2023 and worked on the federal election interference case brought by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. He was part of the team when the case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2024 that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. During Trump's first term, Scharf worked on the confirmation of federal judges including Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, according to The Associated Press. After Trump returned to office in January 2025, Scharf became White House staff secretary, managing documents reaching the president and regularly appearing alongside him during executive-order signings, a perch that placed him at the operational heart of policy implementation. Trump praised Scharf on Truth Social as "Tough, Strong, and Smart."
$400m White House ballroom
Scharf's new appointment comes entangled with one of the administration's most contentious projects. Trump appointed Scharf chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission in July 2025, and the commission later approved Trump's $400m White House ballroom planned on the site of the demolished East Wing. According to AFP, a federal appeals court on Saturday upheld an order stopping aboveground construction, ruling that such a major alteration to the White House requires explicit congressional approval; Trump has said he will take the case to the Supreme Court. Scharf had previously maintained that the planning commission had authority over construction but not the demolition that preceded it, a position now central to the legal fight over the limits of presidential authority and a likely early test for Scharf in his counsel role.
November's midterm elections
The timing of the swap is pointed. The White House counsel advises the presidency on legal and constitutional issues, reviews legislation and executive actions, and helps coordinate the administration's response to lawsuits and congressional investigations. Democrats have pledged to investigate Trump and his administration if they gain control of Congress in November's midterm elections, according to AP. Scharf's elevation continues a pattern of Trump elevating lawyers who previously represented him: Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in his criminal cases, was confirmed as attorney general on Saturday; D John Sauer, who argued the presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court, was appointed solicitor general; and former Trump lawyer Emil Bove was initially given a senior Justice Department post before being confirmed to a federal appeals court. Outgoing counsel David Warrington leaves the administration for the private sector on September 1.
Key points
- Will Scharf will replace David Warrington as White House counsel on September 1, also taking the title of assistant to the president.
- Scharf joined Trump's legal team in 2023 and worked on the federal election interference case and the presidential immunity case at the Supreme Court.
- As chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, Scharf approved Trump's $400m White House ballroom, a project now blocked by a federal appeals court.
- The appointment follows a pattern of Trump elevating lawyers who previously represented him personally, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Solicitor General D John Sauer.
- Democrats have pledged to investigate the administration if they win control of Congress in November's midterm elections.
A counsel who already knows the president's decision-making process could speed coordination between the White House and outside lawyers, potentially reducing legal bottlenecks. Familiarity with ongoing cases like the ballroom litigation may also help the administration present a more consistent legal posture.
Replacing a sitting counsel weeks before midterm elections introduces transition risk at exactly the moment congressional scrutiny is expected to intensify. Scharf's deep entanglement with the ballroom project and Trump's personal cases could also complicate his ability to advise independently on conflicts touching the president's own interests.
