US President Donald Trump tapped Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the next interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia after his original pick failed to clear Capitol Hill.
"I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions," Trump said in a social media post.
"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. Congratulations Jeanine!" he added.
Trump earlier lamented that his original pick to be the top district attorney in Washington, DC failed to win Republican support, saying Ed Martin is "a terrific person, and he wasn't getting the support."
"I'm very disappointed in that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "But we have somebody else that will be great. I just want to say Ed is unbelievable, and hopefully we can bring him into, whether it's DOJ or whatever, in some capacity, because really outstanding. It was to me, it was disappointing. I'll be honest. I have to be straight. I was disappointed."
Trump said he would announce his backup pick within the next two days, but did not elaborate on who that might be.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a prominent Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said earlier this week that he would not support Martin's nomination because of his comments related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, torpedoing Martin's chances of winning confirmation.
