Trump taps senior official in Deputy Attorney General's office for new role to root out fraud
President Trump on Wednesday nominated federal prosecutor Colin McDonald to serve as assistant attorney general for a new Justice Department division tasked with rooting out fraud.
McDonald currently serves as associate deputy attorney general in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office, where his primary responsibility is to oversee issues pertaining to the Justice Department's law enforcement components, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
CBS News was the first to report that McDonald was the lead candidate for the job.
In a statement on social media, Mr. Trump said McDonald had "successfully delivered Justice in some of the most difficult and high stakes cases our Country has ever seen."
McDonald previously served for about a decade as a federal prosecutor in California's Southern District.
In a statement, Blanche said McDonald has been a "key part" of the administration's success.
"He is an experienced prosecutor who loves family, God and country," Blanche said.
McDonald, whose nomination will require Senate approval, will be tasked with overseeing a new division dedicated to rooting out fraud against the government.
Many questions still remain about how the division will work, and many legal experts and lawmakers have questioned whether its creation is duplicative and unnecessary.
Multiple offices across the Justice Department in Washington and in the country's U.S. Attorney's offices already investigate both criminal and civil fraud cases, from healthcare fraud to violations of the False Claims Act.
The creation of a new fraud-focused division at the Justice Department comes as Minnesota and its officials have come under nationwide scrutiny over a growing fraud scandal in the state, which prosecutors estimate could top $9 billion.
Most of the career federal prosecutors who were working on those cases, however, resigned this month, in part amid concerns over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation into the fatal shooting death of Renee Good by an ICE agent.
The Justice Department is surging prosecutorial resources from other offices to Minnesota to handle the workflow, and it has also sought assistance from the Pentagon for assistance from its military attorneys and forensic auditors.