Donald Trump said on Sunday that Will Scharf will replace David Warrington as White House counsel effective September 1st. The change puts Scharf, 40, into the White House legal office while he already serves as chair of the National Capital Planning Commission.
Trump said Warrington had done “a truly outstanding job” as White House counsel and before that for his Presidential Campaign. He also said Warrington “will be going on to the Private Sector,” making the personnel shift a handoff rather than a public break.
Will Scharf and the White House
Trump described Scharf as someone he knows well and said Scharf had represented him in numerous cases, including at the Supreme Court, during the Biden Administration’s campaign of Weaponization. Scharf is known around D.C. as the folder guy, a nickname tied to the administrative role he now holds inside the White House.
The legal handoff comes after Warrington had been described as one of Trump’s closest advisers and a key enabler of his power push. That makes the replacement notable not because the office disappears, but because the person moving into it already sits inside another part of the administration’s machinery.
National Capital Planning Commission
Trump appointed Scharf chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, and that body approved the construction of the $400 million ballroom and the $100 million Triumphal Arch. Scharf’s planning role gives him oversight into Trump’s construction projects in D.C., which means his new White House counsel job will sit alongside an existing post tied to major building decisions.
For Warrington, the transfer points him toward the Private Sector; for Scharf, it adds another layer of responsibility on top of a role that already touches White House-related construction. Trump also said Scharf unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in Missouri in 2024, underscoring that the incoming counsel is moving from campaign and legal work into a central White House post.
The practical change is straightforward: the White House counsel office changes hands on September 1st, while Scharf keeps his planning role in place. The open question is why Trump is making the switch now, with the midterms approaching and Warrington leaving after serving as a close legal adviser.
