Will Scharf, a 40-year-old lawyer who once fired a grenade launcher in a Trump campaign TV ad, will become White House counsel next month. He joined Donald Trump’s legal team in 2023 alongside D. John Sauer and Michael Talent, all graduates of elite law schools practicing in St. Louis.

The trio prevailed before the Supreme Court in a case granting Trump broad criminal immunity. Sauer is now solicitor general, Talent is his deputy, and Scharf will advise Trump in-house. Scharf previously served as White House staff secretary, where he wrote secret memos opposing Stephen Miller’s proposals to suspend due process for undocumented immigrants and invoke the Insurrection Act.

He also chaired the National Capital Planning Commission, overseeing approval of Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project before resigning. Critics called him a rubber stamp, while friends say he believes his role is to help Trump achieve goals within legal bounds, not to block him. Scharf declined interview requests, but colleagues describe him as loyal to the president’s perspective.