'Thought this was a joke': Trump announces nomination of 'wacko' Fox host for top role
Judge Jeanine Pirro speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. (Image: Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons)
Editor's note: This headline and article have both been updated.
President Donald Trump will be adding yet another Fox News personality to his administration, if she survives the confirmation process.
ABC News reported Thursday that Trump was considering Jeanine Pirro to be interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. If she is confirmed, Pirro — who is a co-host of Fox News' "The Five" — would become the Trump administration's top prosecutor. Her nomination comes as former interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin's confirmation ran into a wall after several Senate Republicans said they would not vote for him due to his sympathetic stance toward participants in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Trump later confirmed ABC's report with a Truth Social post on Thursday evening, writing: "I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime. Her establishment of the Domestic Violence Bureau in her Prosecutor's Office was the first in the Nation. She excelled in all ways. In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television. 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. Congratulations Jeanine!"
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Even before Pirro's nomination was officially announced, the news prompted strong reactions on social media from legal experts, journalists and other commentators. Former Politico reporter Laura Rozen reacted to the news by tweeting: "Oh god." Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze wrote that it was a "classic Trump move" to "replace a clown with a wacko."
"I thought this was a joke at first but then I realized it's the real account," attorney Fernando Antonio tweeted in response to the ABC story.
Middle Georgia State University political science professor Chris Lawrence opined that Pirro made Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "seem about as sober as a Mormon judge." Democratic strategist Max Burns also piled on, sarcastically suggesting that Pirro may decline the nomination because the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington D.C. "doesn't have an open bar policy like Fox studios."
"Ha[s] anyone told [Trump] that it's possible to staff an administration without looking to Fox?" Speechwriter Zev Karlin-Neumann tweeted.
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Pirro did not respond to requests from ABC to comment on the matter, and it remains unknown whether she would accept the nomination. U.S. Attorneys make an annual salary of roughly $200,000, whereas Pirro makes $3 million per year at Fox News.
Click here to read ABC's full report.
