Trump names Jeanine Pirro interim US attorney for DC

By Alayna Treene and Kaitlan Collins, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday he’s appointing Fox News host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro the interim US attorney for Washington, DC, after his first pick faced what appeared to be insurmountable pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, touting her as the first woman elected to several previous positions and calling her a “powerful crusader for victims of crime.”

“She excelled in all ways,” Trump went on, praising her television career. “In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television.”

Pirro, whom CNN reported earlier had been under consideration for the role, did not appear Thursday on Fox News’ “The Five.” ABC News first reported that Trump is eying Pirro for the position.

CNN has reached out to Pirro.

Trump said earlier Thursday he would soon announce a new person to replace Ed Martin, his controversial first pick.

“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day, but we have somebody else that will be great,” he added.

Instead, the president said Martin will take on a role within the Department of Justice “or whatever.”

Martin’s chances of full Senate approval had been rapidly diminishing as Republicans on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee needed to advance his nomination this week to meet a critical deadline for confirmation before his interim position expired on May 20.

Following Trump’s announcement that he would be withdrawing Martin’s nomination, Sen. Lindsey Graham called the president’s move “probably a good decision, given all the concerns.”

The South Carolina Republican also suggested he had insight into the president’s next pick for the job, telling CNN, “Stay tuned. It’s going to be big.”

The president formally named Martin as his pick for the job in March, and his nomination process had been riddled with controversies in the weeks since.

Martin updated his mandated disclosure to Congress detailing all of his past media appearances at least three times after his initial filing failed to report appearances he had made in the past few years, including many on far-right outlets and Russian-state media.

He also had to answer for his previous praise of a Capitol rioter who is an alleged Nazi sympathizer, despite his more recent denouncement. And he did not recall some of his most controversial past statements in response to a series of questions under oath put to him by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

During his short tenure as acting US attorney, Martin has drawn attention for having referred to the nation’s largest office of federal prosecutors as “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers,” and demoting senior attorneys who worked on January 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a key GOP swing vote, derailed Martin’s nomination on Monday when he informed the White House he would not support the president’s nominee over concerns related to Martin’s views on the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Despite the setback, the White House had insisted it was behind Martin and Trump was personally lobbying lawmakers on his behalf.

“Martin is President Trump’s favorite US Attorney,” one source familiar with his nomination process said at the time.

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Annie Grayer, Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck contributed to this report.

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