Overview
- President Trump announced on Sunday that White House staff secretary Will Scharf will become White House counsel on Sept. 1, replacing David Warrington who is leaving for the private sector.
- Scharf moves from staff secretary and chair of the National Capital Planning Commission into the top in‑house legal post after serving on Trump’s legal team in cases that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
- As NCPC chair Scharf helped clear the $400 million White House ballroom project, but a federal appeals court ordered construction stopped on Aug. 7 for lack of congressional authorization and litigation is ongoing.
- Reporting shows Scharf wrote confidential 2025 memos that counseled against suspending habeas corpus and invoking the Insurrection Act, which signals he has at times advised legal limits on extreme executive actions.
- His appointment comes as other Trump personal lawyers have taken senior government legal roles, and his timing places him at the center of likely midterm-era fights over subpoenas, testimony and executive privilege.