Trump names James M. McDonald to lead powerful New York federal prosecutor's office

An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington, March 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he will appoint one of his personal lawyers to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, filling a pending vacancy after Trump tapped the man currently in the job to be director of national intelligence.

James M. McDonald, a former federal prosecutor in the office he had been picked to run, served as a financial regulator during Trump’s first term and worked in the White House counsel’s office in President George W. Bush’s administration.

A partner at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, McDonald is part of the legal team handling Trump’s pending appeal of felony convictions in New York related to hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels as the Republican ran for president in 2016.

Trump said Saturday he would name McDonald to the role of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most influential positions in the Justice Department. He would replace Jay Clayton, whom Trump put forward this week as his pick for the director of national intelligence.

McDonald’s perch as U.S. attorney would give him oversight of arguably the most prestigious of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices, with a vast portfolio ranging from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.

McDonald was also part of the legal team that last month secured a favorable outcome for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani when the Trump administration Justice Department dropped a fraud and conspiracy case that had been brought under the Biden administration.

McDonald has also served as director of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Trump’s first term in office and was deputy associate counsel in the White House under Bush.

• READ MORE: Trump plans to nominate U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to be national intelligence director

“I am confident that Jamie will deliver strong results for our Country,” Trump posted Saturday about McDonald on the Truth Social platform.

Nicholas Biase, spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, said it “welcomes the President’s choice to lead the SDNY. Mr. McDonald is widely respected.”

Trump’s announcement on Clayton came as pressure increased from Congress to name a permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation as national intelligence director last month. Trump faced intense pushback over his decision to name Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director.

Fatima Hussein And Eric Tucker, The Associated Press