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| Trump names Fox News host and judge Jeanine Pirro as top DC federal prosecutor | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Move comes after US president withdrew nomination of Ed Martin, a GOP loyalist who supported January 6 pardons | |
| Donald Trump has replaced the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC with Jeanine Pirro, a judge and Fox News host, after a key Republican senator said he would not support the loyalist initially selected for the job. | |
| Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, was elected as a judge in New York’s Westchester county court in 1990 before serving three terms as the county’s elected district attorney. | |
| Trump tapped Pirro to at least temporarily lead the nation’s largest US attorneys’ office after pulling his nomination of Ed Martin, a former Missouri Republican party chair and ardent supporter of Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election, earlier on Thursday. | |
| In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was naming Pirro as the interim US attorney in Washington DC, but didn’t indicate whether he would nominate her for the Senate-confirmed position on a more permanent basis. | |
| “Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself,” Trump wrote. | |
| The president had in January appointed Martin as interim US attorney in Washington DC, an office that oversees both felony prosecutions in the capital city as well as many national security cases. | |
| Martin had quickly made clear he intended to use the role to defend Trump, writing on social media that the office would act as “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers” and saying he would not hire graduates of schools that practiced the diversity policies the president has vilified. | Martin had quickly made clear he intended to use the role to defend Trump, writing on social media that the office would act as “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers” and saying he would not hire graduates of schools that practiced the diversity policies the president has vilified. |
| Interim US attorneys must leave the role after 120 days unless they are confirmed by the Senate. Earlier this week, Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the chamber’s judiciary committee, said he would not advance Martin’s nomination, denying the GOP the votes needed to get his nomination through the committee. | Interim US attorneys must leave the role after 120 days unless they are confirmed by the Senate. Earlier this week, Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the chamber’s judiciary committee, said he would not advance Martin’s nomination, denying the GOP the votes needed to get his nomination through the committee. |
| Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump called Martin “a terrific person” but said “he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought”. | Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump called Martin “a terrific person” but said “he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought”. |
| He added: “He wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we’ll be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” | He added: “He wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we’ll be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” |
| Tillis, who will be a prime target of Democrats in next year’s midterm elections, cited Martin’s support for Trump’s pardon of January 6 insurrectionists on his first day in office. | Tillis, who will be a prime target of Democrats in next year’s midterm elections, cited Martin’s support for Trump’s pardon of January 6 insurrectionists on his first day in office. |
| “I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on January the sixth, and that’s probably where most of the friction was,” Tillis told reporters at the Capitol. | “I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on January the sixth, and that’s probably where most of the friction was,” Tillis told reporters at the Capitol. |
| “If Mr Martin were being put forth as a US attorney for any district except the district where January 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.” | “If Mr Martin were being put forth as a US attorney for any district except the district where January 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.” |
| The top judiciary committee Democrat, Dick Durbin, welcomed Martin’s withdrawal. | The top judiciary committee Democrat, Dick Durbin, welcomed Martin’s withdrawal. |
| “Mr Martin’s record made it clear that he does not have the temperament or judgment to be entrusted with the power and responsibility of being US attorney for the District of Columbia. I’m relieved to see that his nomination will be withdrawn by the White House,” Durbin said in a statement. | “Mr Martin’s record made it clear that he does not have the temperament or judgment to be entrusted with the power and responsibility of being US attorney for the District of Columbia. I’m relieved to see that his nomination will be withdrawn by the White House,” Durbin said in a statement. |
| Earlier this month, National Public Radio reported on ties between Martin and Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a January 6 rioter whom federal prosecutors called a “Nazi sympathizer”. Martin had told the Senate “I am not close with him”, despite appearing with Hale-Cusanelli at events and praising him. | Earlier this month, National Public Radio reported on ties between Martin and Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a January 6 rioter whom federal prosecutors called a “Nazi sympathizer”. Martin had told the Senate “I am not close with him”, despite appearing with Hale-Cusanelli at events and praising him. |
| Martin is known for being active on X and, shortly after Trump announced the withdrawal of his nomination, posted what appears to be a doctored photo of himself dressed as the pope. | Martin is known for being active on X and, shortly after Trump announced the withdrawal of his nomination, posted what appears to be a doctored photo of himself dressed as the pope. |
| Pirro is the latest in a string of Trump appointments to come from Fox News, a list that includes the defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend. | |
| A 1975 graduate of Albany Law School, Pirro has significantly more courtroom experience than Martin. She led one of the nation’s first domestic violence units in a prosecutor’s office. | |
| She became a ubiquitous television pundit during OJ Simpson’s murder trial, often appearing on CNN’s Larry King Live. During her time on Fox News, she frequently interviewed Trump. | |
| Pirro was also named in a lawsuit brought in 2021 by the voting technology company Smartmatic USA, who sued Fox News, Pirro and others for spreading false claims that the company had helped “steal” the 2020 presidential election from Trump. The company’s libel suit, filed in a New York state court, sought $2.7bn from the defendants. | |
| In the final minutes of his first term as president, Trump issued a pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, Albert Pirro, who was convicted in 2000 on conspiracy and tax evasion charges. | |
| The Associated Press contributed reporting | |
| This story was amended on 8 May 2025 to correct that Ed Martin was appointed in January, not February. | This story was amended on 8 May 2025 to correct that Ed Martin was appointed in January, not February. |
| This story was amended on 8 May 2025 to correct that Ed Martin was appointed in January, not February. | This story was amended on 8 May 2025 to correct that Ed Martin was appointed in January, not February. |