NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 28: Jeanine Pirro attends Fox News’ “The Five” at Fox News Studios on June 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job.
What we know:
Trump took to Truth Social to announce his decision, saying, “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.”
Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, co-hosts the network’s show “The Five” on weekday evenings. She 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.
The president called her a “powerful crusader for victims of crime.”
Trump tapped Pirro to at least temporarily lead the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office after pulling his nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. for the position. Trump withdrew Martin from consideration after a key Republican senator said he could not support Martin for the job due to his defense of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. He later added: “But we have somebody else that will be great.”
Big picture view:
Pirro is the latest in a string of Trump appointments coming from Fox News — a list that includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who co-hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Martin has served as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since Trump’s first week in office. But his hopes of keeping the job faded amid questions about his qualifications and background. Martin had never served as a prosecutor or tried a case before taking office in January.
Trump now says Martin will be moving to the Department of Justice where he will serve as the Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General and Pardon Attorney.
“In these highly important roles, Ed will make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims,” Trump wrote on Truth Social
The Source: This report is from the Associated Press with added excerpts from President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account.
