William 'Will' Bailey, Chief of Staff to the Vice President is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing.

Will was originally introduced as the manager of the Horton Wilde campaign to represent California's 47th Congressional District, the seat for which Sam Seaborn later ran. Following his departure from the White House, Sam recommended Will to replace him as Deputy Communications Director with a note to Toby Ziegler that read: "Toby — He's one of us." Toby, after first meeting him, characterized Will as "deeply schooled in Eastern philosophy". His father was the former Supreme Commander of NATO forces, whose ideological footsteps he seems to follow in while making a name for himself with quiet resolve. It can be assumed Will attended Carnegie Mellon University after he was seen wearing a Carnegie Mellon shirt at Camp David in episode one of season six. He appears also to have attended the University of Cambridge, since he claims he was "President of Cambridge Union Society" on a Marshall Scholarship in episode ten of season four.

He was gracefully added to the staff over the course of a few episodes. There was a requisite amount of hazing when he was first hired and moved into Sam's old office for a temporary three-week contract to help with the president's second inaugural address. He slowly began to win everyone over and President Bartlet eventually appointed him as deputy. Will left President Bartlet's staff soon after the appointment of Congressman Bob Russell as Vice President of the United States when he accepted Russell's offer to be his Chief of Staff. The main reason for his move to Russell's office was to prepare the Vice President for a possible presidential campaign in 2006.

See also

• The West Wing
• Characters on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes