Donald Trump has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as his interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Trump announced the appointment in a Truth Social post Thursday afternoon.
“Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime,” he wrote.
“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. 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,” he continued. “She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”
The announcement of Pirro to the top prosecutor in DC comes as it became clear that the current interim top prosecutor Ed Martin, will not be confirmed for the role permanently after losing support from Senate Republicans.
Pirro, a former prosecutor and current Fox News host, is a staunch Trump supporter who publicly defended him during the “Access Hollywood” tape scandal.
She also promoted the false allegations of election fraud involving voting machines and was later among the several Fox News employees named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit for broadcasting false claims about the company, ABC News noted.
The conservative network eventually settled for $787.5 million and admitted the statements were false.
Pirro also has a long history of making anti-Muslim comments.
In 2015, she said on Fox that “we need to kill them, the radical Muslim terrorists hellbent on killing us.” She was suspended by Fox News in 2019 after questioning Ilhan Omar’s patriotism, asking on air if the Minnesota representative’s religious beliefs undermined her loyalty to the United States, according to the Daily Beast.
She also claimed Omar followed Sharia law because she wears a hijab. Her remarks prompted Fox network to issue a statement condemning her remarks.
