Will Scharf
American attorney, political advisor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Owen Scharf (born 1986 or 1987) is an American attorney and political advisor who serves as the White House staff secretary in the second Donald Trump administration. He previously was a candidate in the 2024 Missouri attorney general election.
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Will Scharf | |
|---|---|
Scharf in 2025 | |
| White House Staff Secretary | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Stefanie Feldman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Owen Scharf 1986 or 1987 (age 39–40) |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Early life
Scharf was born in 1986 to a Modern Orthodox Jewish family and grew up in New York and North Florida.[1][2] In August 2023 he was living in St. Louis County, Missouri.[3] Scharf attended Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, then Princeton University in New Jersey where he received a bachelor's degree in 2008.[3][4] He later attended Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Federalist Society and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2011.[3][4]
Career
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Scharf initially worked as an attorney in private practice.[3] In 2016, he joined Catherine Hanaway's campaign for Missouri governor.[4] After Hanaway lost to Eric Greitens in the primaries, Scharf joined Greitens's campaign for the general election race.[4] Upon Greitens winning and becoming governor of Missouri, Scharf was named his policy director.[4] Greitens resigned in 2018 and Scharf subsequently worked in New York and Washington, D.C.[5] In 2020, he became an assistant United States attorney, working in the violent crimes division for the city of St. Louis.[5]
Scharf worked for the confirmations of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett for the United States Supreme Court.[6] He worked for the firm CRC Advisors, which helped choose court nominees for President Donald Trump.[6]
In 2023, Scharf announced his candidacy for the 2024 Missouri attorney general election, challenging Andrew Bailey for the Republican nomination.[5] In October 2023, he joined former President Trump's legal team, working on several of Trump's cases, including for the appeal of his gag orders, the appeal of Trump's civil fraud trial, and his presidential immunity case.[7][8][9] He made frequent television appearances defending Trump and was reported as playing a "major role" in the presidential immunity case, which resulted in the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the former president and giving absolute immunity for official acts as president.[6][10]
Scharf was co-endorsed by Trump in his attorney general race.[11] He was defeated in the primary by Bailey.[12]
White House Staff Secretary (2025–present)
After President Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he announced that Scharf would serve as Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary.[13] A statement released by Trump said that "Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team."[13]
Scharf has been a "prominent part of the tableau" of the second Trump White House, often depicted standing alongside the President and presenting him with executive orders and other documents during live press conferences.[14] Described as playing a primarily "behind the scenes role," though, his role involves "managing process and policy" and "directing how information and decisions flow through the highest office in the country."[15] He has been listed as one of the small number of White House aides with Oval Office walk-in privileges.[16]
In July 2025, Trump appointed Scharf as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal board that oversees federal construction in Washington. The NCPC has jurisdiction over Trump's White House State Ballroom project. Scharf controversially argued that the NCPC did not need to review plans for the demolition of the East Wing of the White House.[17]