McDonald is part of the legal team representing Trump in his appeal of felony convictions tied to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint James McDonald as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor's office that oversees many of the most notable cases involving Wall Street.
McDonald would succeed Jay Clayton, whom Trump nominated as US director of national intelligence less than two weeks after facing congressional opposition to his interim appointee, housing official Bill Pulte.
Trump had initially selected Pulte following the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of intelligence.
McDonald, whose jurisdiction includes Manhattan, served as director of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for nearly four years and previously worked as an assistant US attorney at the SDNY for three years.
He is a member of the legal team handling Trump's ongoing appeal of felony convictions in New York related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
McDonald also participated in the legal team that last month achieved a favorable result for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani when the Trump administration's Justice Department dismissed a fraud and conspiracy case that had been initiated under the Biden administration.