We learned a few days back about Will Scharf leaving his post at President Trump's side in the Oval Office as assistant to the president and White House staff secretary, with him moving on to serve instead as White House counsel.
Trump took to his Truth Social account on Thursday with the announcement on who will take his place starting Sept. 2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 27, 2026
"I am pleased to announce that, effective September 2nd, Ben Moss will become Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary, replacing our new White House Counsel, Will Scharf," he said.
Trump added, "Ben has been tremendous as Deputy Staff Secretary and, before that, as Policy Director to the Vice President."
The president praised the departing staffer as "truly outstanding" in the staff secretary role, saying, "Will did a truly outstanding job as Staff Secretary, and will no doubt be an amazing White House Counsel."
Trump tapped Scharf as the next counsel in an announcement on Aug. 9. His new gig starts Sept. 1, the president said.
Scharf was reportedly one of the WH staff members who was secretly escorted to the decoy plane, along with Pres. Trump and Sec. of War Pete Hegseth, when leaving the NATO summit in Turkey earlier in Aug., as RedState wrote.
Then Trump busted out the bio on Moss in his post:
"Ben started in Government as General Counsel to JD Vance in the United States Senate, after serving as a Law Clerk to a Highly Respected Federal Appeals Court Judge, and a lawyer in private practice," he wrote.
"He was a top student at the University of Chicago Law School, one of the best Law Schools in the Country and, more importantly, he is a Patriot who loves our beautiful Country," the president said. "He will do a great job as Staff Secretary. Congratulations Ben!"
What does the WH staff secretary do exactly? Here's a concise explainer:
The Staff Secretary isn't just an administrative role it is the central nervous system of Oval Office paper flow.
— The Beginner's Market Brief (@BeginnersBrief) August 27, 2026
Ben Moss moving up from Deputy Staff Secretary to full Staff Secretary (as Will Scharf transitions to White House Counsel) locks in an operational gatekeeper who…
The Staff Secretary isn't just an administrative role it is the central nervous system of Oval Office paper flow.
Ben Moss moving up from Deputy Staff Secretary to full Staff Secretary (as Will Scharf transitions to White House Counsel) locks in an operational gatekeeper who controls every memo, executive order, action paper, and briefing doc that reaches the President's desk. Given Moss's background as JD Vance’s former domestic policy director and Senate counsel, his elevation signals a tight institutional alignment between the Vice President's policy pipeline and the Oval Office's final sign-off mechanics.
Readers may have already seen Moss in action (though in his deputy role) on Thursday during the Oval Office signing event for Trump's order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.
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