Trump Nominates TV Host Jeanine Pirro as Interim US Attorney for Washington, DC

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced the selection Thursday of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to become the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia after his previous nominee failed to win Senate support.

Pirro, 73, is a former prosecutor, judge and longtime popular television host and commentator.

She also has been a friend and vocal supporter of Trump for years, even when he insisted he lost the 2020 election through voter fraud.

“During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social. He added, “She is in a class by herself.”

Ed Martin, the failed nominee, instead will take a high-ranking Justice Department position.

His representation as an attorney of three rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, appeared to sink his chances of winning Senate approval for a longer appointment as the U.S. attorney. Even Republican senators said Martin never should have helped the rioters as they faced criminal charges.

Trump acknowledged that pressure from the Senate compelled him to switch the U.S. attorney appointment to Pirro.

“It’s disappointing,” Trump said about the failure of Martin’s nomination. “I know he’s very talented.”

Since being appointed in January, street crime has fallen 25% in Washington, D.C., Trump said. Martin’s 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney expires May 20.

Unlike Martin’s relatively obscure background as a Missouri politician, Pirro comes to the U.S. attorney’s office as a high-profile conservative who already has indicated she embraces the president’s political agenda.

Pirro was elected as a judge in Westchester County, New York, in 1990. Three years later, she was elected as the county’s district attorney. She gained notoriety for her prosecutions of domestic abuse and crimes against the elderly.

Pirro briefly ran for the U.S. Senate as the Republican opponent of Hillary Clinton in 2006 but dropped out to accept the nomination for New York attorney general. She lost in the general election to Democrat Andrew Cuomo.

Pirro is best known for her television career.

She hosted a television show entitled “Judge Jeanine Pirro” on the CW Network from 2008 to 2011. She then hosted “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on the Fox News Channel from 2011 to 2022.

Most recently, she was a co-host of Fox’s conservative political talk show “The Five.”

It was at Fox that she ran into one of her greatest controversies.

Pirro made false statements after the 2020 presidential election that voting machine fraud secured Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. She was later named as a defendant in defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems.

Fox News settled the claims for $787.5 million. The settlement required Fox to admit publicly that accusations by Pirro and other commentators of rigged voting machines were false.

The network announced Pirro’s departure Thursday, saying she was “a longtime beloved host across Fox News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure.”

Controversy also surrounded what appeared to be favoritism Trump showed toward Pirro in the final hours of his first presidency. He pardoned Pirro’s ex-husband, who was a Republican donor.

Albert Pirro had been convicted on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion for deducting more than $1 million in lavish personal expenses but claiming them as a tax write-off for his businesses.

Jeanine Pirro will be taking over the nation’s biggest and most politically powerful Offices of the U.S. Attorneys. Like Martin, her 120-day interim appointment can be extended indefinitely only after Senate confirmation.

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