This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed one of his Jewish personal attorneys to a powerful position in the White House for his second term. Will Scharf, who earlier this year played a role on Trump’s legal team in the presidential immunity case, was named on Saturday as White House staff secretary. In his role, Scharf will oversee the flow of information to the president and manage the circulation of material among senior staff.
In the announcement, Trump noted that Scharf, a former federal prosecutor, “played a pivotal role in overcoming the election interference and lawfare directed against me, including securing the historic immunity decision in the Supreme Court.”
Scharf’s Jewishness, and accusations of antisemitism
Scharf, 38, was raised in a Modern Orthodox household in New York City and North Florida. He told Jewish Insider that he keeps kosher, wraps tefillin daily, and attends Shabbat services at his local Chabad synagogue.
He previously served as a senior adviser to former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who is Jewish and resigned in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Scharf recently lost a tense Republican primary race for Missouri attorney general. During the campaign, he drew backlash for a TV commercial that featured a grenade launcher that exploded boxes of documents in Trump’s court cases. “It’s time for a Missouri attorney general who will return fire,” Scharf said in the 30-second clip, posted shortly after the first failed assassination attempt on Trump.
Scharf’s opponents during the election were accused of antisemitism. One ad during the GOP primary featured his face imposed on U.S. currency, describing him as a “New York City liberal,” and “sneaky.” A Democratic candidate accused him of being a Mossad agent on a mission to destroy American democracy.
Last year, Scharf co-founded “Jews Against Soros,” a conservative group that rejected the notion that targeting George Soros, the Holocaust survivor and billionaire Democratic donor, was antisemitic. Soros was the frequent target of antisemitic tropes — including in Trump fundraising emails — that depicted him as a puppet master who manipulates national events for malign purposes. Scharf’s website highlighted Soros’ history of supporting far-left political activism, including the boycott movement against Israel.
This story was originally published on the Forward.
