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.
