President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he was naming James McDonald, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and one of his personal lawyers, as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, putting the veteran prosecutor in charge of an office with jurisdiction over Wall Street and a reputation for pursuing prominent white-collar crime cases.
Trump said in a social-media post: “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, as he has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, our Law Enforcement Patriots, the Legal Community, and the Judicial Bench.”
McDonald, who goes by Jamie, is one of several lawyers representing Trump in the appeal of his conviction in the New York state hush-money case and a related federal case. He is the latest in a series of current or former personal lawyers Trump has tapped for prominent positions since returning to the White House. Last week, the Senate continued consideration of Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer, as permanent attorney general.
McDonald would replace Jay Clayton, the current U.S. attorney for the Southern District, whom Trump has nominated as director of national intelligence. Under Clayton, the office brought charges against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Luigi Mangione — the accused killer of a UnitedHealthcare executive — and members of an alleged drug ring operating in a Manhattan park. Mangione and Maduro have pleaded not guilty.
McDonald is a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, the firm where Clayton spent more than two decades as a corporate lawyer. McDonald joined the firm in 2021, and Sullivan & Cromwell currently represents Trump in appeals of his civil and criminal cases. During Trump’s first term, McDonald served as enforcement director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
McDonald brings more prosecutorial experience to the job than Clayton, who had never worked as a prosecutor before leading the office. From 2014 to 2017, McDonald worked as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District, where he prosecuted gang and organized-crime cases. He worked on the first public-corruption trial of former New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor, said McDonald was a “good choice for Trump,” citing his prosecutorial background and expertise in securities and commodities regulation. “I think he is aligned with him and has real credentials,” she said.
A spokesman for the Southern District of New York said: “The Office welcomes the President’s choice to lead the SDNY. Mr. McDonald is widely respected.”
Before his time as a prosecutor, McDonald clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and served in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush.
To serve permanently as U.S. attorney, McDonald will need to be confirmed by the Senate or be appointed by the district’s judges. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., previously blocked a confirmation vote for Clayton, who was eventually approved by the judges.