Trump chooses Fox News host Jeanine Pirro for top job after withdrawing controversial pick
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Donald Trump's administration could gain yet another Fox News alum and long-time ally as he's set to appoint Judge Jeanine Pirro United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Pirro, 73, would replace interim appointment Ed Martin, who Trump withdrew the nomination for the job on Thursday, promising instead 'somebody who will be great.'
That somebody appears to be Pirro, who before her tenure on Fox has a host of both her own show and a commentator on several others, had a decades-long career as judge, prosecutor, and politician.
Trump confirmed the pick - though didn't say whether she would be nominated to serve permanently - in a Thursday evening post to his Truth Social account.
'I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,' he wrote, before listing Pirro's credentials.
Trump lauded Pirro's status as a trailblazer for women in law enforcement and her work prosecuting domestic abusers.
'She excelled in all ways. In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television,' he added.
'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!'
Pirro did not appear in her regular spot on Fox's 'The Five' on Thursday evening with no comment made on her absense.
'Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington,' a Fox News Media spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement.
Trump said Thursday that he would pull his nomination of Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation´s capital, bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist's modest legal experience and divisive politics.
Trump abandoned his pick to lead the nation's largest U.S. Attorney's office two days after a key Republican senator said he could not support Martin for the job due to his defense of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
'He's a terrific person, and he wasn't getting the support from people that I thought,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the status of Martin´s confirmation.
Trump later added: 'But we have somebody else that will be great,' indicating the announcement will be made in the next two days.
Trump said he still wants to bring Martin into the administration, whether at the Justice Department or elsewhere, and signaled that he had little capacity to call on-the-fence senators to lobby them: 'I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day.'
Within minutes of Trump's announcement, Martin jokingly posted a doctored image of himself on social media dressed in papal garments with the words, 'Plot twist' - alluding to the breaking news that a new pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church.
A spokesperson for Martin didn´t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Born in Elmira, New York, the daughter of Lebanese American parents Pirro knew she wanted to be a lawyer from the age of six.
The fictional TV criminal defense attorney, Perry Mason, was, she told DailyMail.com earlier this month, her inspiration.
Fresh out of Albany Law School she was appointed Westchester County's Assistant District Attorney in 1975 and within two years had approached her boss, DA Carl Vergari, to urge him to apply for federal funding to establish a bureau specializing in domestic violence cases.
In 1990, she was appointed the first female judge in Westchester County. She was on the bench for three years before she decided, she says, 'I don't belong here.'
She explains, 'I loved being a judge, but I realized I was really a referee, and my nature is a fighter. That's why I ran for DA.'
She smiles, 'I was perfect as a DA. I just loved to fight. When I ran for that office, I had to do a press conference with my then husband, who was furious about it at the time. I had to convince people that I would have enough time to take care of my children, because I had little kids.
'Now, the fact that I was running against a guy who had three kids and whose wife was pregnant with a fourth, they could care less about.'
Did that anger her? 'It annoyed the s**t out of me,' she says, 'but I have the ability to channel my anger in a way where, all right, let's make this work. You know? I'm going to make this work. I'm going to get in there and I'm going to take care of women and I'm going to take care of children. I'm going to take care of victims.'
She was elected in November 1993 and again in 1997 and 2001 before announcing, in May 2005, that she would not be seeking re-election.
Instead, she turned to politics. In August 2005 she embarked on a short-lived run at the Republican nomination to challenge Hillary Clinton in the Senate before dropping out that December.
In 2006 she ran for Attorney General but was beaten by Andrew Cuomo. The day after her defeat she got a call from Warner Brothers, she says, offering her a television show.
Her initial reaction was one of disbelief, she admits, 'I said, 'Why would you want me on television?'
Her daily show, 'Judge Jeanine Pirro' debuted in 2008 and would go onto win a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2011. It was cancelled that same year by which time Pirro had already inked a deal with Fox for her hit show, 'Justice with Judge Jeanine.'
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