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President Donald Trump named Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro to be the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., per his Thursday, May 8 Truth Social post.
“During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime,” Trump, 78, wrote in his announcement after detailing her law enforcement background. “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.”
Pirro, 73, formerly served as the judge of the Westchester County Court, N.Y., in 1991-1993. Next, she served as the Republican district attorney of Westchester County, N.Y., from 1994 to 2005. She then stepped down to run against then-Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. However, she then announced her run for New York attorney general instead, which she lost to Andrew Cuomo.
In 2006, Pirro joined Fox News and later hosted Justice with Judge Jeanine. Since 2022, she has been a co-host on Fox News’ The Five. Due to Trump’s recent announcement, she is leaving effective immediately, a Fox News Media spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE. A rotation of Fox News personalities will fill her position on The Five until a new co-host is named.
“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 said.
Pirro is Trump’s latest selection of a government official who previously worked on Fox News. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth previously hosted Fox & Friends.
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Earlier on Thursday, Trump said current Washington D.C. interim top prosecutor Ed Martin would not be taking the position permanently. Martin has been serving in the position since Trump’s Jan. 20 Inauguration, and his interim term concludes on May 20.
The president withdrew Martin from consideration after Republican senators said they would not support Martin because he defended rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, per the Associated Press.
“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, per the Associated Press. “But we have somebody else that will be great.”
Pirro has supported Trump since his 2016 campaign and defended him during the Access Hollywood tape scandal, per The New York Times. During his first administration, in 2019, Pirro was reportedly suspended by Fox News after she questioned whether Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, 37, held anti-Constitutional beliefs due to her religion.
In the final hour of Trump’s first term, he issued a last-minute pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor, Albert Pirro. He was convicted in 2000 on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion.
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Additionally, following Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, Jeanine was named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit seeking $1.6 billion filed by Dominion Voting Systems.
The suit alleged that she and the other Fox News hosts purposefully shared falsehoods on air that the company’s voting machines contributed to the notion that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was “stolen.” In April 2023, Fox News Media paid a $787.5 million settlement and acknowledged that statements were false.
She has also been named in a similar, still pending, lawsuit filed by voting-tech vendor Smartmatic.
