Trump picking Fox News host Pirro for US attorney in DC is his worst choice yet | Opinion
The Fox News host would be the chief prosecutor for the nation's capital, with the power to investigate any number of Trump adversaries in Washington.
On May 8, President Donald Trump announced that Fox News host Jeanine Pirro would be nominated for interim U.S. attorney for Washington, DC, the top prosecutorial job in the District of Columbia.
This decision is so stupid it almost didn’t merit writing about, but I don’t want to lose sight of the lunacy that is Trump’s nominations, and that Republicans are likely to approve this new one.
Pirro's elevation, the latest in a string of bad picks from Trump, demonstrates just how much autonomy he has in his second term and why he clearly needs more oversight.
Jeanine Pirro's loyalty to Trump seems to be the only thing that matters
Despite Pirro not having held a government job since she stepped down as a district attorney in 2005 to pursue bids for higher office, Trump insists she is a supremely qualified candidate.
In many ways, Pirro is the perfect choice for Trump. She is a stout defender of the president and a longtime loyalist. I'm sure it helps that Trump pardoned her ex-husband in the final hours of his first presidential term in January 2021.
She even has no problem blindly defending Trump at the expense of her employer, her actions in part costing Fox News nearly $800 million when they settled their defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems.
Trump wants prosecutors who will do his bidding, and Pirro certainly fits the bill. There is little reason to believe she will use any amount of free thought in her position, but it's certain she'll pursue his prosecutorial desires. Just like former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, now Defense secretary, what she lacks in competence, she makes up for in loyalty.
Trump isn't just giving Pirro a token position as a thank you, though. This is a position of legitimate importance. She would be the chief prosecutor for the nation's capital, with the power to investigate any number of Trump adversaries in Washington. You can bet that's what she'd be doing.
Pirro would be another test for the Republican Senate
Trump has floated the idea of nominating Pirro for various positions since his first term, but it was far too outlandish a choice for the (comparatively) normal times then.
Now, Trump has blind deference from the Republican Party, and his only requirement for hires is loyalty. A political attack dog without principles is the perfect prosecutor for him to use for his goal of revenge for perceived wrongs.
Pirro is only being nominated in an interim capacity, meaning she does not need to pass Senate confirmation. An interim appointment lasts for only 120 days, at which point the DC District Court selects an acting U.S. attorney.
However, if she were to be chosen for the position full-time, she would need to be confirmed. By approving her, Republican senators would be admitting outright that they don’t care about competence or qualifications. The only thing that matters to them is whatever Trump signs off on.
They’ve already decimated their credibility by approving the nominations of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Not to mention Hegseth. Still, this would be a new low.
I hope that Republicans in the Senate can muster the numbers to oppose Pirro's possible nomination, but my cynicism is at an all-time high following the fates of the rest of Trump’s appointees.
Americans can no longer rely on cooler heads prevailing in the Senate. We are likely subject to Trump's whims regarding nominations, even if it means something like this horrible choice.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.