By The Daily Wire (World News) | Created at 2026-08-09 22:45:55 | Updated at 2026-08-09 23:44:23
6 hours ago
President Donald Trump on Saturday named White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf as his next White House Counsel, elevating one of the lawyers behind his Supreme Court immunity victory to the West Wing’s top legal job.
Scharf will replace David Warrington effective September 1, Trump announced on Truth Social, saying Warrington — a Marine veteran who served as general counsel for Trump’s 2024 campaign — did a “truly outstanding job” and is headed to the private sector.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 9, 2026
The promotion caps a rapid rise for Scharf and puts a lawyer with a demonstrated willingness to tell the president “no” in charge of the office that vets the administration’s legal strategy. In a confidential April 2025 memo to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, revealed in June by The New York Times, Scharf argued against a proposal championed by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to suspend habeas corpus to speed deportations, writing that the denial of habeas rights “was a key grievance underlying the American Revolution” and that courts have almost uniformly held only Congress can suspend the writ. A second memo cautioned against invoking the Insurrection Act in response to immigration protests. The administration ultimately did neither.
That counsel evidently cost Scharf nothing with the president. “I know Will well!” Trump wrote Saturday, crediting him with representing him “in numerous cases, including at the Supreme Court, during the Biden Administration’s corrupt and illegal campaign of Weaponization.” Scharf joined Trump’s legal team in October 2023 and worked on his gag order appeals, civil fraud appeal, and the presidential immunity case that produced Trump v. United States.
As staff secretary, Scharf controlled the flow of documents and decisions to the Oval Office and was among the few aides with walk-in privileges — a fixture at the Resolute Desk during executive order signings. A former federal prosecutor who clerked for two federal appeals court judges, he also helped run the Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmation efforts before joining the campaign.
“Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart!” Trump wrote.
