by Sharon Rondeau
(May 8, 2025) — At approximately 7:30 PM EDT Thursday, President Donald Trump posted on his TruthSocial account his nomination of former Westchester County, NY district attorney and judge Jeanine Pirro to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Earlier in the day, Trump withdrew his nomination of Edward R. Martin, Jr., who served in the post on an interim basis since January 20, 2025, in the wake of doubts he would be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Despite the controversies surrounding his nomination, on Thursday Trump expressed confidence in Martin to head the Weaponization Working Group within the Justice Department. He will also serve as pardon attorney and associate deputy attorney general, Trump posted on TruthSocial.
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“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,” Trump wrote. “She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”
Born in 1951 in Elmira, NY as Jeanine Ferris, Pirro graduated from Notre Dame High School and went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the University of Buffalo and J.D. from Albany Law School, where she served as law review editor.
Her parents were of Lebanese heritage and practiced Maronite Catholicism, an eastern rite.
According to her Wikipedia page:
Pirro was elected as a judge of the Westchester County (N.Y.) Court in 1990. In 1993, she was elected to the position of Westchester County district attorney. She is the first woman to be elected to either of those positions. As district attorney, Pirro gained visibility in cases of domestic abuse and crimes against the elderly. Pirro was re-elected district attorney in 1997 and 2001. Pirro briefly sought the Republican nomination for United States Senate to run against Hillary Clinton in 2006, but dropped out to accept the nomination for New York Attorney General; she lost the general election to Democrat Andrew Cuomo.
Since 2008, Pirro worked in television news in various capacities as a contributor on NBC, hosting “Judge Jeanine Pirro” on the CW Television Network, “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on the Fox News Channel from January 2011 to December 2021, and as co-hosting “The Five” since January 2022.
She has authored six books, including “To Punish and Protect,” “Clever Fox,” “Crimes against America,” and “Liars, Leakers and Liberals: The Case against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy.”
On Thursday evening, Pirro did not appear on “The Five” in her regular co-host role.