Trump taps Will Scharf as White House counsel
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- Will Scharf will replace David Warrington as White House counsel starting Sept. 1; Warrington is leaving for the private sector
- Scharf is currently White House staff secretary and was appointed by Trump in July 2025 as head of the National Capital Planning Commission, where he helped secure approval for the $400 million White House ballroom project
- Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented Trump in cases including at the Supreme Court; in October 2023 he joined the legal team in the election interference case that produced the sweeping immunity ruling for official acts
- During Trump's first term, Scharf worked to confirm Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett
- A divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that construction on the $400 million ballroom must stop because Congress had not approved it, and Trump has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court
- Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in the New York hush money trial, was confirmed last week as attorney general — another Trump lawyer elevated in the second administration
Why it matters: With Democrats pledging investigations if they win the midterms, Trump is placing a fiercely loyal personal lawyer in the office that handles pardons, judicial appointments, and congressional inquiries. Scharf's direct involvement in the $400 million ballroom project — which a federal appeals court just halted Friday — also ties the new counsel to the administration's most legally vulnerable construction effort.
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