Trump's Trials - Trump names Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for D.C. after dropping earlier pick

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

President Trump said he is appointing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be acting U.S. attorney in Washington DC. This is after the president pulled his controversial first pick for the job, Ed Martin.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. I'm Scott Detro. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode of Trump's Terms, we bring you NPR's latest coverage of the 47th president, with a focus on actions and policies he is pursuing on his own terms and in the process, taking the presidency into uncharted territory.

Today's story starts right after this. Are you like me? Do you love picking the best and worst looks on the red carpet? Well, for the first time ever, the Met is dedicating their annual gala to the history of black fashion. So from where I'm sitting, the looks could be really good or not. I mean, will someone wear a durag when they shouldn't? Let's get into the backstory of black fashion and rate the best and worst looks together.

This week on the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. Look, we get it. When it comes to new music, there is a lot of it and it all comes really fast. But on All Songs Considered, NPR's music recommendation podcast, we'll handpick what we think is the greatest music happening right now and give you your next great listen. So kick back, settle in, get those eardrums wide open, and get your dose of new music from all songs considered, only from NPR. I'm Laila Fadl. 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. Good morning Lila. Okay so we know Piro as this bombastic Fox News host. Tell us more about her. Well Piro is very well known for as you said being this Fox News host and it's something that Trump in fact touted in announcing his decision to pick her.

Piero'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.

Now, Trump announced Pura only after withdrawing his previous pick for the job, Ed Martin. What happened with Martin's nomination? So Martin was a controversial pick from the beginning. He had no prosecutorial experience. He pushed false claims of election fraud in 2020. He's been a staunch defender of Capitol rioters.

That's particularly relevant here because the US Attorney's office in DC has spearheaded the prosecutions of January 6 rioters. But then as acting US Attorney's Office in DC has spearheaded spearheaded the prosecutions of January 6 rioters But then is as acting US 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 US 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 pardon January 6 rioter who's known for racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. And so this week, it became clear that the votes just weren't there in the Senate to confirm Martin. And Ryan, just put in context for us why the job of US Attorney in Washington DC matters so much. It matters because the US Attorney's office here is one of the largest and most important

in the country and that's by nature of its location in DC, the nation's capital, and because of the sort of cases that it handles, that includes of course politically sensitive ones. I will say Piro'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 US attorney replacing an interim US attorney. So keep an eye on that. Piro, though, unlike Martin, does have some prosecutorial experience, as I mentioned.

But like Martin, Piro has been a defender of the president, 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 Piro 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 US Attorney here. And already this idea is receiving a warmer welcome from Republicans in the Senate. Now Trump still did find a new role for Martin in his administration.

What can you tell us about that? 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 pardoned attorney. And that's filling a job that was made vacant after the previous pardoned attorney was fired. NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thank you, Ryan.

Thank you. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks as always to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR. Keeping up with the news can feel like a 24-hour job. Luckily, it is our job.

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