Trump to name ex-CFTC enforcer McDonald as Wall Street’s top cop

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he plans to appoint James McDonald as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor whose office handles many of the most high-profile cases involving Wall Street.

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 tapped Pulte after Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of intelligence, announced her resignation.

McDonald, whose district includes 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.

“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. He’s currently a litigation partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, the same law firm where Clayton worked before heading SDNY.

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, while maintaining close ties with Trump.