President Trump announced that White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf, a 40-year-old former federal prosecutor who represented Trump before the Supreme Court, will take over as White House counsel when David Warrington departs for the private sector.
Trump made the announcement Sunday on Truth Social, praising both the outgoing and incoming counsels in a post that signaled continuity rather than disruption. Scharf will formally assume the title of Assistant to the President and White House Counsel effective September 1, Fox News reported. Warrington, who served as Trump's personal attorney and general counsel for the 2024 Trump-Vance campaign before being appointed counsel at the start of the second term, is leaving for a private-sector role that has not been publicly identified.
The move elevates a loyalist with deep legal credentials into the most consequential legal post inside the West Wing, the office responsible for vetting executive orders, advising the president on constitutional authority, and defending White House prerogatives against congressional oversight and litigation.
Trump's post left little doubt about why he chose Scharf. The president highlighted Scharf's work representing him "in numerous cases, including at the Supreme Court," during what Trump called the Biden administration's legal actions against him. The Washington Examiner reported that Scharf also served as a federal prosecutor, worked in private practice, and clerked for two federal appeals court judges. He attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
Trump posted on Truth Social:
"I know Will well! He previously represented me in numerous cases, including at the Supreme Court, during the Biden Administration's corrupt and illegal Weaponization. He also previously served as a Federal Prosecutor, worked as an attorney in private practice, clerked for two Federal Appeals Court Judges, and was a top student at both Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Will is Tough, Smart, and Strong!"
Before joining the White House, Scharf ran unsuccessfully for Missouri state attorney general in 2024. Inside the administration, he has served as staff secretary, the gatekeeper who controls the flow of documents, including executive orders, to the president's desk for signature. A September 5, 2025, photo captured Scharf handing Trump an executive order in the Oval Office, a role that gave him daily proximity to presidential decision-making.
Scharf also led the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal development projects in Washington, D.C., including Trump's plans for a White House ballroom and a triumphal arch at the Virginia end of the Memorial Bridge. That portfolio put Scharf at the intersection of policy ambition and bureaucratic execution, experience that will serve him in a counsel's office tasked with defending aggressive executive action.
The appointment comes amid a broader period of White House staff transitions, with several senior aides departing or shifting roles heading into the fall.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles congratulated Scharf on X and thanked Warrington for what she described as a productive tenure. Wiles credited the White House Counsel's Office under Warrington with helping deliver "24 Supreme Court victories and the confirmation of 54 judges", a record that reflects the administration's emphasis on reshaping the federal judiciary.
Wiles also acknowledged Warrington's broader service, thanking him for "his tenure as White House counsel, Trump-Vance campaign counsel, and Trump's loyal attorney." That triple role, campaign lawyer, personal attorney, and White House counsel, underscores how deeply embedded Warrington was in Trump's legal infrastructure before his departure.
Wiles added, as Breitbart reported:
"Warmest congratulations to Will Scharf as he will soon take the helm as White House Counsel. There is so much winning ahead!"
Warrington's specific private-sector destination remains unclear. Trump praised him as having "done a truly outstanding job," but offered no details about the next chapter.
The transition also comes at a moment when the administration faces questions about internal policy debates. The personnel dynamics inside the West Wing have drawn attention on several fronts, from friction over foreign policy stances to staffing challenges across cabinet departments.
Scharf's willingness to draw legal boundaries within the administration surfaced publicly last month. The New York Times reported that Scharf warned against a proposal, championed by Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, to suspend habeas corpus protections for illegal immigrants. Scharf argued the move would trigger a constitutional battle, a position that placed him at odds with one of the administration's most aggressive policy voices on immigration enforcement.
The outcome of that internal debate is not publicly known. But the episode reveals something about the kind of counsel Scharf is likely to be: a loyalist willing to fight for the president's agenda, but one who flags legal risk before the executive order lands on the Resolute Desk rather than after a federal judge blocks it.
That instinct matters. The White House Counsel's Office does not merely rubber-stamp presidential ambition. It shapes which executive actions survive judicial review and which ones collapse in court. An administration that has pursued sweeping executive authority on immigration, federal spending, and agency restructuring needs a counsel who can tell the president where the legal lines are, and how to push them without crossing them.
Separate from the counsel transition, the administration has navigated other internal challenges, including staffing friction at the Interior Department under Secretary Doug Burgum.
AP News reported that the transition takes effect September 1, positioning Scharf to lead the counsel's office heading into a politically charged fall. With midterm elections approaching and Democrats threatening investigations should they retake either chamber of Congress, the White House legal team will need to be prepared for an uptick in oversight demands, subpoena fights, and potential litigation.
Scharf's background, federal prosecutor, Supreme Court litigator, appellate clerk, and staff secretary who has seen every major executive order cross the president's desk, gives him an unusually broad view of the administration's legal exposure. Few incoming White House counsels arrive with that combination of courtroom experience and inside knowledge of the paperwork that generates the lawsuits.
At 40, Scharf is also young for the role, which has historically been held by seasoned Washington attorneys deep into their careers. His age and his failed 2024 bid for Missouri attorney general suggest a political future beyond the counsel's office, but for now, his job is to keep the administration's legal machinery running and its executive actions standing.
The broader White House operation continues to evolve as Trump moves personnel into positions aligned with his second-term priorities.
A White House that racks up 24 Supreme Court victories and 54 judicial confirmations in its first stretch deserves a counsel who can keep that pace. Whether Scharf can match Warrington's record while steering the administration through the legal fights ahead will determine how much of Trump's second-term agenda survives contact with the courts.
