WASHINGTON (AP) — The binder full of executive orders that President Donald Trump has been signing with a flourish and a wide Sharpie during his first week in office doesn't just magically appear in front of him.
White House secretary Will Scharf is a prominent part of the tableau, standing by Trump's side as he tees off leather-bound folders for the president one by one. When the cameras are rolling, Scharf performs a voiceover about what Trump is signing, sometimes leaning into a nearby microphone at the president's direction.
He was at Trump's side Thursday as the president signed orders and memorandums at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. And in Trump's first hours back in power, he was there with Trump at the Capitol at a nearby rally and the White House, as the president scrawled his name on a stack of orders implementing his agenda. I was there.
Scharf doesn't just play the straight guy as Trump speaks his orders, cracks jokes and field questions from reporters. He also plays a key role in the White House, overseeing the flow of information and business to and from the president.
See Schaaf and his new work:
President's Inbox
The staff secretary's job has traditionally included managing the papers that cross the president's desk. It pretty much acts as air traffic control for the west wing. Track the drafting and approval of memos and statements as they make their way to the president's desk and to the world.
The “staff” coordinates the flow of the work of the White House's policy, communications and legal teams around the building and is traditionally a neutral arbiter of policy disputes.
The chief of staff secretaries have nearly unparalleled visibility into West Wing events and lead one of the least known but most influential teams in a functioning White House.
Who is Schaaf?
Schaaf was a member of Trump's legal team before joining the new administration. He previously worked as policy director for former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and on the campaign of 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Katharine Hanaway.
After graduating from Princeton and Harvard Law School, he moved to Missouri in 2011 to clerk for Judge Raymond Gruder on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked as an assistant in the United States.
Trump made Scharf his staff secretary in November. He cited Schaaf's experience as a lawyer on future presidents' criminal cases and his work during the Trump presidency, the first time the judges and justices were confirmed. They included Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who served as President George W. Bush's White House staff secretary.
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 the president enjoys sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Scharf is among several Trump lawyers who have been rewarded with spots in his new administration. Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump in the Hush Money criminal trial in New York, both held high-ranking Justice Department positions.
“Will Scharf is a brilliant legal mind with extensive experience defending President Trump from witch hunts,” White House Press Director Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement. “Will is perfectly suited to carry out President Trump’s agenda in this important role.”
It's not Schaaf's first time
Scharf's spot at Trump's side wasn't his first as he rolled out his day in executive action. He appears on cable news and writes opinion columns discussing Trump's legal cases.
In 2023, Scharf and Newsweek senior editor Josh Hammer co-founded a group called Jews and Soros, claiming that criticism of billionaire Democratic donor and philanthropist George Soros is anti-Semitic. We have launched a campaign claiming that it is not a doctrine.
Scharf unsuccessfully ran for Missouri attorney general in 2024, losing to incumbent Andrew Bailey. His campaign has a mild-mannered lawyer use a grenade launcher to fire into a pile of boxes labeled as appearing to contain legal documents related to Trump's criminal case. It contained some memorable advertisements that looked like:
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
