This law firm has deep ties to Trump. Now a partner is his pick for a top job.

Washington — It was not yet 4 o'clock in the morning in Washington on Wednesday when President Trump, an ocean away at the G7 summit in France, issued a demand for Republican senators: James "Jamie" McDonald, his pick for U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, "must be confirmed" immediately. "I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved, and I don't want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place," the president said on his Truth Social platform . McDonald is Mr. Trump's choice to helm one of the nation's most prestigious federal prosecutors' offices — known for its independence and tough enforcement of Wall Street malfeasance and other white-collar crimes. And he would succeed Jay Clayton, who has been tapped by the president to become the next director of national intelligence. Though little-known outside the power corridors of Washington and Manhattan, McDonald has been a notable force during Mr. Trump's second term. At Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the world's largest law firms, where Clayton also once worked as a partner, McDonald has played a central role in persuading the Justice Department to drop or settle a string of high-profile cases for the firm's corporate clients, according to court records and sources familiar with the matter. …