Prosecutors on pins and needles awaiting Jay Clayton's replacement

Source: Politico

06/12/2026 05:00 AM EDT


With Jay Clayton’s nomination to become director of national intelligence, the Manhattan federal prosecutors he has overseen for the past year are bracing for what’s next.

Clayton, who came to the powerful job of Manhattan U.S. attorney with no prior prosecutorial experience, drew skepticism when he first arrived on the scene, his outsider status compounded by his chumminess with President Donald Trump. At an office that has long prized its independence from Justice Department headquarters and the White House, Clayton’s occasional golf outings with the president made prosecutors squirm.

Now, with his impending departure, the Southern District of New York is once again on edge about who might lead the storied office during a time of upheaval and uncertainty at the Justice Department. “There’s a lot of trepidation about it,” a former SDNY prosecutor said, describing assistant U.S. attorneys as being on “pins and needles” about Clayton’s successor. “People have begrudgingly accepted Clayton at the office because they’re looking around and see” the alternatives, the person said.

Clayton held a meeting at the office late Thursday afternoon after Trump’s announcement, according to two people familiar with the matter, but didn’t appear to address his replacement. Names being floated in SDNY circles Thursday included Sean Buckley, the current deputy U.S. attorney; Nicolas Roos, co-chief of the office’s securities and commodities fraud task force; and James McDonald, one of Trump’s personal lawyers who is close with Clayton. McDonald is a former Manhattan prosecutor. A spokesperson for SDNY declined to comment.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/12/jay-calyton-dni-sdny-00960257