The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to proceed with former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro’s nomination to be the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia.
Protesters opposing Pirro’s confirmation interrupted the meeting of the panel, shouting that none of the Senate Judiciary Committee members represented the constituents of Washington, D.C., and its residents rejected her.
“Ms. Pirro has demonstrated for decades that she prioritizes her relationship with Donald Trump, now president, over almost anything else,” said Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “Her record makes it clear that she’ll prioritize President Trump’s MAGA agenda. Not the rule of law. Nor the Constitution.”
The Senate has a so-called blue slip policy that allows home state senators to veto a U.S. attorney nominee for their jurisdiction. Without voting Senators, Washington, D.C., does not have representatives who could formally object to Pirro’s nomination.
“To me, this is yet another deep insult to the dignity and the decency of Washington, D.C.,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), another member of the judiciary panel.
Pirro is currently serving as U.S. attorney in an interim capacity, after President Donald Trump’s first nominee for the role, Ed Martin, failed to gain enough support among the Republican senators. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, effectively tanked Martin’s confirmation when he said he would oppose the nominee over his comments about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and his defense of some rioters.
