What happened
President Donald Trump said Thursday night he was tapping Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., hours after pulling his nomination of right-wing activist and acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr.
Who said what
"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," Trump said on social media. "She is in a class by herself." Pirro's selection "continues Trump’s reliance on what are now more than 20 former Fox television personalities to serve in sensitive roles in his second administration," The Washington Post said.
Like Martin, Pirro "has supported Trump’s push to seek retribution against perceived enemies" and supported his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, The Wall Street Journal said. But unlike Martin, she "has experience as a prosecutor," making her "a more conventional choice" to lead, at least temporarily, the largest U.S. attorney's office in the country. Martin's nomination was doomed after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he wouldn't vote for him, citing Martin's support of violent Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters. Martin also failed to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state TV and his ties to a white supremacist antisemite.
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What next?
Trump said he is naming Martin the "new director of the Weaponization Working Group, associate deputy attorney general and pardon attorney," all Justice Department positions that don't require Senate confirmation. Trump's installation of Pirro after Martin is an "aggressive interpretation of his appointment powers," The New York Times said, and "could face a legal challenge."
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