Who’s the guy handing Trump those binders of executive orders? Meet Will Scharf
WASHINGTON (AP) — Those binders full of executive orders that President Donald Trump has been signing with a flourish and a wide-tipped Sharpie during his first week in office don’t just magically appear before him.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf has been a prominent part of the tableau, standing at Trump’s side and teeing up the leather-bound folders, one by one, for the president. With the cameras rolling, Scharf provides running narration on what Trump is signing, at times leaning into a nearby microphone at the president’s direction.
He was by Trump’s side Thursday as the president signed orders and memoranda at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. And in the first hours of Trump’s return to power, he was there with Trump at the Capitol, at a nearby rally and the White House as the president scrawled his name on stacks of orders implementing his agenda.
Scharf doesn’t just act the straight man as Trump talks up his orders, cracks jokes and fields questions from reporters. He also plays a key role in the White House, overseeing the flow of information and business coming to and from the president.
A look at Scharf and his new job:
The presidential in-box
The staff secretary’s job has traditionally involved managing the papers that cross the president’s desk. It serves almost as air traffic control for the West Wing — tracking the drafting and approval of memos and statements as they work their way to the president’s desk and then out to the world.
The “StaffSec” coordinates the work of the White House policy, communications and legal teams as information flows around the building, and traditionally is a neutral arbiter in policy debates.
The staff secretary has nearly unparalleled visibility to the goings-on of the West Wing and leads one of the least-known but most impactful teams in a well-functioning White House.
Who is Will Scharf?
Scharf was a member of Trump’s legal team before joining the new administration. He previously worked as a policy director for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and on the campaign of 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway.
He graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School before moving to Missouri in 2011 to clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked as an assistant U.S. attorney.
Trump tapped Scharf to be his staff secretary in November, citing his experience as a lawyer on the future president’s criminal cases and Scharf’s work during the first Trump presidency getting judges and justices confirmed. They included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh — who himself served as White House staff secretary for President George W. Bush — and Amy Coney Barrett.
He helped Trump fight his legal battles
Scharf joined Trump’s legal team in October 2023 and was one of the president’s lawyers in the election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The case went before the Supreme Court, which ruled that presidents enjoy sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Scharf is among several of Trump’s lawyers who have been rewarded with spots in his new administration. Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York, both got high-ranking Justice Department posts.
“Will Scharf is a brilliant legal mind who has extensive experience defending President Trump from the witch-hunts against him,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “Will is perfectly suited to help execute President Trump’s agenda in this important role.”
It’s not Scharf’s first time in the public eye
Scharf’s spot by Trump’s side as he rolled out his Day One executive actions was not his first time in public view. He has appeared on cable news and has written opinion columns discussing Trump’s legal cases.
In 2023, Scharf and Newsweek senior editor Josh Hammer co-founded a group called Jews Against Soros, launching a campaign arguing that criticism of George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor and philanthropist, is not antisemitic.
Scharf ran unsuccessfully for Missouri attorney general in 2024, losing to incumbent Andrew Bailey. His campaign included a memorable ad in which the mild-mannered lawyer appears to use a grenade launcher to fire on a pile of boxes that were labeled to look like they contained legal documents related to Trump’s criminal cases.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.