President Donald Trump's senior personal counsel has quietly become one of the most influential figures in Washington, operating largely outside public view while maintaining near-constant access to the president and extending his reach across the federal government.
Legal adviser Boris Epshteyn speaks with Trump so frequently that the president sometimes places him on speaker phone during Oval Office meetings without informing other attendees, according to two people familiar with the practice, and he visits the Oval Office roughly once a week and is described by a White House official as "constantly" on the phone with the president in between.
"He's the president's fixer," said a frequent White House visitor.
Trump has compared Epshteyn to a personal psychiatrist, a reference to how often the two speak and to the unfailingly supportive counsel Epshteyn provides, but not everyone in Trump's circle views that dynamic favorably. "He's 100% hype man and cheering section for POTUS," one adviser said.
Epshteyn's influence extends well beyond personal access. He has overseen an aggressive campaign of civil litigation targeting major media and technology companies, securing settlements from ABC, CBS, Meta, Google, and X totaling nearly $90 million. Suits against BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Pulitzer Committee remain active.
His reach also extends into the Justice Department, where Trump advisers say he holds significant sway through his close relationship with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Epshteyn built his standing in Trumpworld by assembling the legal team that navigated Trump through four criminal cases and two civil ones during the 2024 election cycle. His strategy — fighting on every front, appealing every ruling, and applying sustained political pressure on prosecutors and judges — culminated in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
"What Boris advised and what the president did was frankly insane, completely risky," said a Trump adviser. "But it worked. That's why Boris is where he is."
Epshteyn was indicted in Arizona as part of the fake electors scheme in connection with the 2020 election, and he pleaded not guilty in July 2024.
"Boris delivered in the crucible of battle where either Trump was going to be in prison or be president," added right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon, a former Trump official. "Boris was the guy who got it done."
That track record has insulated Epshteyn from significant internal challenges, including a transition-era investigation by fellow Trump attorneys into whether he had improperly monetized his access to the president. Trump kept him.
One Trump political adviser, while acknowledging Epshteyn's growing clout, offered a more cutting assessment: "He's one of the five most powerful people around the president."
