President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in front of the West Wing of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump says he is naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in DC
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 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鈥檚 capital after abandoning his first pick for the job.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in front of the West Wing of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 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鈥檚 capital after abandoning his first pick for the job.
Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, co-hosts the network鈥檚 show 鈥淭he Five鈥 on weekday evenings. She was elected as a judge in New York鈥檚 Westchester County Court in 1990 before serving three terms as the county鈥檚 elected district attorney.
Trump tapped Pirro to at least temporarily lead the nation鈥檚 largest U.S. Attorney鈥檚 office after pulling his nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. for the position earlier on Thursday. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was naming Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., but didn’t indicate whether he would nominate her for the Senate-confirmed position on a more permanent basis.
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“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.
Trump withdrew Martin from consideration after a said he could not support Martin for the job due to his defense of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a terrific person, and he wasn鈥檛 getting the support from people that I thought,鈥 Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. He later added: 鈥淏ut we have somebody else that will be great.鈥
Pirro is the latest in a string of Trump appointments coming from Fox News 鈥 a list that includes Defense Secretary , who co-hosted 鈥淔ox & Friends Weekend.鈥
Martin has served as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since Trump鈥檚 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.
Martin has stirred up a chorus of critics during his brief but tumultuous tenure in office. He subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases. He posted on social media about potential targets of investigations. And he forced the chief of the office鈥檚 to resign after directing her to scrutinize the awarding of a government contract during Democratic President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration.
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Martin鈥檚 temporary appointment is due to expire on May 20.
Pirro, a 1975 graduate of Albany Law School, has significantly more courtroom experience than Martin. She led one of the nation鈥檚 first domestic violence units in a prosecutor鈥檚 office.
After her elected terms as a judge and district attorney, Pirro briefly campaigned in 2005 as a Republican to unseat then-Democratic Sen. before announcing that she would would run for New York attorney general instead. She lost that race to , son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Pirro became an ubiquitous television pundit during , often appearing on CNN鈥檚 鈥淟arry King Live.鈥 During her time on Fox News, she has frequently interviewed Trump.
In the final minutes of his first term as president, Trump issued a pardon to Pirro鈥檚 ex-husband, Albert Pirro, who was convicted in 2000 on conspiracy and tax evasion charges.
In 2021, voting technology company sued Fox News, Pirro and others for spreading false claims that the company helped 鈥渟teal鈥 the 2020 presidential election from Trump. The company鈥檚 libel suit, filed in a New York state court, sought $2.7 billion from the defendants.
