Trump taps lawyer who helped defend him as Wall Street's top cop

María Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg News on Jun 13, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump tapped an experienced white-collar lawyer who helped defend him in a hush money case to be U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor whose office handles many high-profile Wall Street cases.

James McDonald would replace Jay Clayton, whom Trump nominated as U.S. director of national intelligence less than two weeks after a congressional backlash against his interim appointee, housing official Bill Pulte. Trump had picked Pulte after Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of intelligence, announced her resignation.

McDonald was part of the legal team at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP that Trump tapped for an appeal related to his conviction in a hush money case in New York State court involving a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

McDonald, whose district would include Manhattan, was director of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for almost four years and also an assistant U.S. attorney at SDNY for three years.

Since leaving the CFTC and joining Sullivan & Cromwell, McDonald has had list of blue chip clients, including Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Allianz SE and Polymarket. If confirmed, he may have to recuse himself from investigations involving former clients.

“I am confident that Jamie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York,” Trump said in a social media post Saturday.

McDonald also served in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush and as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

A spokesperson for Sullivan & Cromwell said McDonald is widely respected for his judgement, integrity and fairness.

Clayton will stay on as head of the Southern District office through his Senate confirmation process, a SDNY spokesperson said. The Senate intelligence committee plans to hold a hearing on Clayton’s nomination next week.

Under Clayton’s leadership, his office has brought cases against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the founders of First Brands and Tricolor.

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(With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison, Yash Roy, Patricia Hurtado and Bob Van Voris.)