Trump Names Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro Interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Updated May 9, 2025, 04:07 AM

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is appointing Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, making her the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital.

Pirro’s selection follows the withdrawal of conservative activist Ed Martin, whose nomination faltered in the Senate Judiciary Committee amid opposition from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Trump added that Martin will instead become an associate deputy attorney general and oversee presidential pardons as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney.

Trump described Pirro as “incredibly well qualified,” noting her 12-year tenure as Westchester County district attorney and earlier service on the New York bench. Pirro, who co-hosts Fox News’s “The Five,” will leave the network to assume the federal post.

Because the interim appointment does not require Senate confirmation, Pirro can take office immediately while the White House weighs a formal nomination. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington handles many of the government’s most sensitive criminal and national-security cases.

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