Tillis Opposition Puts Trump’s DC U.S. Attorney Nominee Ed Martin in Jeopardy

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Updated May 7, 2025, 03:49 AM

President Donald Trump’s bid to install conservative lawyer Ed Martin as permanent U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is in danger as a statutory deadline for Senate confirmation approaches on May 20. If the chamber fails to act by then, Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for D.C. would be empowered to choose an interim top federal prosecutor for the capital. The nomination suffered a significant blow on 6 May when Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the White House he will oppose Martin. Tillis said “most of my concerns relate to January 6” and added that he would support Martin “for any district except the one where Jan. 6 happened.” His stance likely deprives the narrowly divided committee of the votes needed to advance the nominee, and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski has also signaled misgivings. Trump has mounted an intensive pressure campaign, phoning senators and using social-media posts to urge confirmation. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other allies have publicly endorsed Martin, while Sen. John Cornyn reversed earlier hesitation, saying, “I’ll support him—I defer to the president’s choices.” Despite that backing, Martin’s path remains uncertain; absent a late shift by Tillis or other holdouts, the nomination appears headed for collapse before the May 20 deadline.

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