President-elect Donald Trump tapped two Missouri members of the legal team for jobs in the new administration, naming D. John Sauer solicitor general and Will Scharf assistant to the president and White House staff secretary.

Sauer, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, was Missouri solicitor general from 2017 through 2022 under Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. In that job, he led Missouri’s unsuccessful effort alongside other GOP attorneys general to keep Trump in power by challenging the 2020 election results. 

More recently, Sauer successfully represented Trump at the U.S. Supreme Court in his bid for immunity from being criminally charged for trying to overturn the 2020 election. The justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines in July to give Trump immunity from some official acts he took as president.

As solicitor general, Sauer will be responsible for litigating the federal government’s positions at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He is a legit genius, an incredible lawyer and I’m thrilled for him and his family,” Schmitt posted on social media. 

Scharf, who ran unsuccessfully against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the GOP primary, briefly served in the administration of former Gov. Eric Greitens before moving to Washington, D.C., to work for the advocacy organization Judicial Crisis Network, focused on judicial confirmations and nominations, most notably Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

In 2020, he returned to Missouri to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis. Alongside Sauer, Scharf was part of the team advising and defending Trump in his myriad criminal trials over the last year. 

More: Missouri attorney general candidates share their goals if elected this year

In his new job, Scharf will decide which memos, briefings and reports will go to the president and who should weigh in on issues and speeches.

“Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team,” Trump said in announcing Scharf’s appointment, later adding: “Will is going to make us proud as we Make America Great Again.”

This story was first published at missouriindependent.com.

A wrong-way crash on Interstate 29 near the Iowa state line in northern Missouri early Sunday killed two Kearney teenagers and injured another. The crash happened just before 7:30 a.m. when a man involved in a multi-state police chase drove the wrong way on I-29 with an unbuckled 1-year-old in the passenger seat. The chase ended near the Iowa-Missouri border when the suspect’s vehicle collided head-on with a Ford Focus carrying three 18-year-olds from Kearney.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – As Missouri transitions to a new administration, there is a lot of uncertainty about what the election results mean for contraceptive access. One non-profit says this uncertainty has led to an increase in requests for help.

Although Missourians voted to pass Amendment Three, enshrining abortion access into the state constitution, the election of an anti-abortion governor has many confused about what’s next.

That confusion has led to an increase in requests for these emergency contraceptive kits. Missouri Family Health Council sends out emergency contraceptive kits on request Before the election — Leslie Klote says there were about 19 requests a day for a kit – but following the election, requests spiked to 150 per day.

“Patients are just really afraid of just what these changes might mean for them personally,” Klote said.

The kits contain two doses of a contraceptive pill, condoms, lubricant and information on different reproductive care resources in Missouri. They can be requested online through Missouri Family Health Council’s website. The kits are sent in the mail in unmarked envelopes.

Governor-elect Mike Kehoe previously told us he would respect the results of the election — but still focus his efforts on abortion alternatives.

Many of those alternatives can be found at pregnancy centers, like Coalition Life in St. Louis. Brian Westbrook with Coalition Life says Amendment Three was unnecessary.

“There are safety nets for women here in the state of Missouri,” Westbrook said. “We didn’t need Amendment Three or any amendment to give them the safeguards.”

In addition to abortion, Amendment Three does protect access to other forms of birth control. But even with that, Klote says the future of reproductive care is uncertain going into next year.

“I think there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty with the changes that are happening both at the federal and state level,” Klote said.

Amendment Three is set to go into effect Dec. 5. Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit to lift Missouri’s abortion ban, that has a hearing set for Dec. 4.

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