Trump nominates Colin McDonald to lead new White House-controlled fraud division

On January 8, 2026, the Trump White House announced the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED), a new DOJ unit. The announcement came from the White House rather than from DOJ, signaling direct executive control.

On January 28, 2026, Trump nominated Colin McDonald as the inaugural Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement. McDonald had been serving as associate deputy attorney general under Deputy AG Todd Blanche since January 2025.

The statutory cap problem: 28 U.S.C. § 506 specifies the president can appoint only 11 Assistant Attorneys General. The administration resolved this by repurposing the vacant Tax Division AAG position rather than creating a 12th slot, avoiding the need for new Congressional authorization.

The reporting structure is constitutionally novel. Unlike all other AAGs, NFED leadership was announced as reporting directly to the White House — to Trump and Vice President Vance — rather than through the Attorney General. Legal experts cited 28 U.S.C. § 509, which vests all DOJ functions in the Attorney General, and § 510, which limits delegation to DOJ employees, not the Vice President.

McDonald spent roughly a decade (2014-2024) as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Southern District of California and Hawaii. His most prominent case was prosecuting former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha for public corruption.

McDonald appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 25, 2026. Democrats raised concerns about his work with the DOJ Weaponization Working Group under Todd Blanche and whether the NFED would be used to target political opponents.

The Senate confirmed McDonald 52-47 on March 24, 2026, on a strict party-line vote — every Republican voted yes, every Democrat voted no. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had committed to swift confirmation from the outset.