LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump says he's appointing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. Trump made the announcement hours after he pulled his controversial first pick for the job, who was facing pushback in the Senate. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is covering this, and he joins us now. Good morning, Ryan.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So we know Pirro as this bombastic Fox News host. Tell us more about her.
LUCAS: Well, Pirro is very well-known for, as you said, being a - being this Fox News host. And it's something that Trump, in fact, touted in announcing his decision to pick her. Pirro's been at Fox for almost 20 years. But before her time on TV, she did serve as a judge in Westchester County in New York - an elected position. She also served as the district attorney for several terms in the county, as well. So she does have some prosecutorial experience at the state level, but she's been out of the legal world for almost two decades. As a Fox News host, she's been very much a staunch and vocal supporter of President Trump. She also pushed false claims about election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and those statements, in fact, were part of a lawsuit filed against the network.
FADEL: Now, Trump announced Pirro only after withdrawing his previous pick for the job, Ed Martin. What happened with Martin's nomination?
LUCAS: So Martin was a controversial pick from the beginning. He had no prosecutorial experience. He'd pushed false claims of election fraud in 2020. He's been a staunch defender of Capitol rioters. That's particularly relevant here because the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. has spearheaded the prosecutions of January 6 rioters. But then, as acting U.S. attorney for the past several months, Martin fired prosecutors who worked January 6 cases, demoted top prosecutors who handled cases against Trump allies. He's threatened to investigate specific Democratic members of Congress, and so Democrats accused Martin of weaponizing the U.S. Attorney's Office. They were very united in their opposition against Martin.
Republicans could have pushed Martin's nomination over the line on their own. But in the end, some GOP senators had concerns about Martin's January 6 views, his ties to a pardoned January 6 rioter, who's known for racist and antisemitic rhetoric. And so this week, it became clear that the votes just weren't there in the Senate to confirm Martin.
FADEL: And, Ryan, just put in context for us why the job of U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., matters so much.
LUCAS: It matters because the U.S. Attorney's Office here is one of the largest and most important in the country. And that's by nature of its location in D.C., the nation's capital, and because of the sort of cases that it handles. That includes, of course, politically sensitive ones. I will say Pirro's appointment to lead the office is on an interim basis. This could face legal challenges because of how this is being done - an interim U.S. attorney replacing an interim U.S. attorney. So keep an eye on that.
Pirro, though, unlike Martin, does have some prosecutorial experience, as I mentioned. But like Martin, Pirro has been a defender of the president and has supported the idea of getting vengeance on his perceived political enemies. She's been critical of judges who've ruled against the administration. I think it's important to say that Pirro and Trump have known each other for years. Trump, in fact, pardoned her ex-husband at the end of Trump's first term, and now he's tapped her to be U.S. attorney here. And already, this idea is receiving a warmer welcome from Republicans in the Senate.
FADEL: Now, Trump still did find a new role for Martin in his administration. What can you tell us about that?
LUCAS: He found multiple roles for him, in fact, none of which need Senate confirmation. Trump announced on social media that Martin will be the new associate deputy attorney general and director of the Weaponization Working Group at the Justice Department. And he also made him pardon attorney, and that's filling a job that was made vacant after the previous pardon attorney was fired.
FADEL: NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thank you, Ryan.
LUCAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
