President Trump’s first White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, had tense encounters with the president as he resisted Mr. Trump’s efforts to impede the Russia investigation, emerging as an avatar for people who believed the president needed containing.

In Mr. Trump’s second term, his White House counsel, David Warrington, has so far taken a much milder approach in one of the most important legal jobs in government — a position that historically has straddled a sometimes-murky divide between keeping the president on the right side of the law and finding ways to facilitate presidential desires.

Mr. Warrington, 57, has been at Mr. Trump’s side as the president has made numerous legally aggressive moves — prolifically invoking emergency powers, sending troops into cities, investigating his perceived foes, unilaterally raising import taxes and leveraging concessions from private sector companies.

The pattern raises the question of how such maneuvers have been shaped by the views of Mr. Warrington, who has no previous government experience. In an interview, the White House counsel described his role as informing the president about the legal landscape and providing guidance about potential consequences, including ways to reduce risks — but not making decisions for Mr. Trump.

“He’s the one that makes the ultimate decisions,” Mr. Warrington said, adding: “And whether I have a personal view of something is really, that’s — unless asked for it, I don’t give it.”

If Mr. Warrington has a lighter touch than Mr. McGahn or other past White House counsels, that’s in part because the job itself is different now. There is no special counsel investigation dogging Mr. Trump, as there was in his first term, and the Justice Department’s top ranks are filled with Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers. The Supreme Court last year granted presidents substantial immunity from prosecution for official actions.