President Donald Trump's appointment of Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is being questioned by The Washington Post's editorial board.
The editorial Wednesday cast doubts about the legality of appointing successive U.S. attorneys to the same position following the decision to pull Ed Martin Jr.'s nomination because opposition by enough Republicans put his Senate confirmation in doubt. Martin was reassigned to roles in the Department of Justice that do not require Senate confirmation.
The Post said Pirro — a former prosecutor and judge in Westchester County in New York — is qualified for the job. But it cited the appointment might violate the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which addresses interim appointments in the executive branch that require Senate confirmation.
"The appointment of Judge Jeanine Pirro to be the Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia is consistent with the law and the longstanding advice of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel," Harrison Fields, a White House senior adviser and deputy principal press secretary, said in a statement to Newsmax.
The Post also said that Pirro, a former Fox News host who has been a longtime Trump supporter, "has acted in ways that call into question whether she has the independence necessary to responsibly take on one of the most important prosecutorial jobs in the United States."
The editorial cited her support for Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and her criticisms of the political weaponization of the DOJ.
"What's more," the Post said, "in choosing her, Trump is pushing the limits of his authority. It isn't clear that the law allows him to name successive interim U.S. attorneys who are not confirmed by the Senate. Both these questions need to be resolved quickly to protect D.C.'s interests."
Federal law, which the Post did not cite in its editorial, states the attorney general can appoint an interim U.S. attorney for up to 120 days. If that 120-day window expires without Senate confirmation — Martin's appointment was withdrawn before his term was set to expire May 20 — the district court would name a temporary U.S. attorney "to serve until the vacancy is filled."
That would mean U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge of the D.C. district who has butted heads with the Trump administration by issuing nationwide injunctions on the mass deportation of illegal immigrant gang members, would be in charge of naming a temporary replacement. It is possible he would name someone to whom Trump is opposed.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.