By COLlive reporter
President Donald Trump has announced that Jewish attorney Will Scharf, one of the most visible members of his White House team, will become White House Counsel and Assistant to the President beginning September 1, 2026.
Scharf currently serves as White House Staff Secretary, a noted position overseeing the flow of documents and information to the president. In that role, he has become a familiar presence alongside Trump, frequently seen in the Oval Office handing the president executive orders and other documents for his signature.
His promotion to White House Counsel will place him in one of the administration’s most consequential legal positions, advising the president and senior White House officials on constitutional, legal and policy matters.
Scharf, a former federal prosecutor who previously served as one of Trump’s personal attorneys, was part of Trump’s legal team in several of the high-profile cases brought against him before the 2024 election. Trump credited Scharf with playing a key role in the legal effort that resulted in the Supreme Court’s landmark presidential immunity decision.
Before joining the second Trump administration, Scharf also worked during Trump’s first term on the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. He later ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Missouri attorney general.
Scharf’s Jewish background has also drawn attention as his profile in the administration has grown.
At the annual Chanukah reception at the White House, Scharf led the crowd with reciting one of the brachos. Trump then went to the microphone and commented, “I didn’t know you’re that Jewish… he’s seriously Jewish.”
During the recent Living Legacy conference held before the Rebbe’s yartzeit on Gimmel Tammuz, Scharf hosted participants for a meeting at the White House and spoke of Chabad’s influence on him.
Raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family in New York and North Florida, Scharf has spoken publicly about his continued Jewish observance. He has said that he keeps kosher, puts on tefillin daily and attends Shabbos services at a Chabad shul, according to JTA.
A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Scharf served as a federal prosecutor before becoming closely associated with Trump and his legal team. During his years at Princeton, he was deeply involved with Chabad on campus, serving as president of the Chabad Student Board.
Rabbi Eitan Webb, co-director of Chabad at Princeton, told The Daily Princetonian that he had “personally gained and grown from Will,” describing Scharf as exceptionally organized, thorough, and respectful.
His observance has occasionally surfaced publicly during his White House tenure. After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a photo of Scharf aboard Air Force One with plates of lobster tacos nearby, Scharf reposted it with a clarification: “For the record, I had the veggie tacos.”
Scharf has also taken part in Jewish activities within the administration, including co-hosting a Pesach event for White House staff, a Megillah reading on Purim led by American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) and more.
Trump initially selected Scharf as White House Staff Secretary following his 2024 election victory, describing him at the time as a “highly skilled attorney” who would be a crucial member of his White House team.
His elevation to White House Counsel marks another significant rise for the Jewish attorney, moving him from managing the documents reaching the president’s desk to serving as one of Trump’s principal legal advisers.
