The Senate held a key vote for acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Thursday, bringing her one step closer to a permanent appointment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination Thursday in a redo vote that was “triggered by a Democratic walkout last week,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Pirro was approved by the Republican-led committee on a 12‑10 party‑line vote. She and several other Trump appointees were set to advance on July 17, but the vote was ruled invalid when Democrats, protesting a different nominee, broke quorum.
Protesters opposing Pirro’s confirmation disrupted the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, shouting that none of the panel’s members represented Washington, D.C., constituents and that the city’s residents had rejected her nomination, Politico reported without noting that more than 95 percent of Washington, D.C., residents are Democrats.
The Senate follows a “blue slip” policy that allows home-state senators to block U.S. attorney nominees for their jurisdiction. However, because Washington is the nation’s capital, per the Constitution, it does not have U.S. senators or members of the House.
Pirro is currently serving as interim U.S. attorney after President Donald Trump’s initial nominee for the position, Ed Martin, failed to secure sufficient support from Republican senators. His confirmation was effectively derailed when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, announced he would vote against Martin due to his comments about the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and his defense of certain rioters, Politico added.
Pirro took the oath of office in May to serve as the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., during an event in the Oval Office. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi administered the oath, with President Trump in attendance.
“We need to send a message that justice will be honored in the District of Columbia,” Pirro said after taking the oath. “My voice should be heard loud and clear: No more. No more tolerance of hatred. No more mercy for criminals.”
“Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment, and this city will again become a shining city on a hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again,” Pirro added.
Trump discussed Pirro’s career in both the legal and media spaces before she was sworn in.
A spokesperson for FOX News Media said in a statement: “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.”
During her address, Pirro condemned the recent murder of two Israeli embassy staffers on the streets of Washington, vowing that justice would be served. She pledged to hold the “cold-blooded murderer” accountable.
Pirro previously served as both assistant district attorney and district attorney in Westchester County, New York, and made history as the first woman to serve as a judge on the Westchester County Court.
She joined Fox News Channel in 2006 and hosted “Justice with Judge Jeanine” for 11 years before joining “The Five,” which has become the most-watched program on all of cable news.
After assuming her position, Pirro dove right into the job. In recent weeks, her office announced that: (1) Robbers were sentenced for kidnapping and beating a woman in her home; (2) Three more men in Washington, D.C., were sentenced for trafficking fentanyl; (3) A Marijuanna dealer who passed a machine gun was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison; and (4) A jury found a father guilty of first-degree child sexual abuse of his 12-year-old.
Also, two people were sentenced to more than 130 months in prison on Thursday for their participation in a drug trafficking conspiracy that spread contraband in Washington, D.C., as well as a shooting, officials said.
