Trump’s D.C. Prosecutor Pick Stalls as Key GOP Senator Balks (2)

Time is running out for President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for Washington’s chief prosecutor to be confirmed as he faces opposition from a key Senate Republican.

Republicans don’t have enough votes to advance former Jan. 6 advocate Ed Martin’s nomination to be US attorney for the District of Columbia out of the Judiciary Committee, after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a panel member, came out against it.

Tillis said Tuesday he’s notified the White House of his opposition and cited concerns about Martin’s views on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. As a result, the panel won’t have time to vote on Martin’s nomination before his term as acting US attorney expires later this month, according to a source close to the nomination process.

A potential defeat of Martin’s candidacy — which the White House is still standing by — would be a notable loss for Trump, who has so far managed to muscle unpopular Cabinet nominees through a pliant Republican-controlled Senate.

Still, it wouldn’t be unprecedented: Trump’s first pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew from consideration shortly after he was announced amid Republican opposition.

Tillis’ opposition to Martin, who was tapped as interim DC US attorney on Jan. 20, follows intense scrutiny by congressional Democrats and former prosecutors who’ve questioned his fitness for the role and raised concerns he’d approach it with a partisan lens.

Martin previously defended Jan. 6 participants in court and has called them “patriots,” “victims,” and “politically persecuted.” As interim US attorney, he oversaw the dismissals of charges against hundreds of Capitol rioters after Trump announced broad pardons and opened an internal investigation into the use of an obstruction statute against Capitol rioters by federal prosecutors.

It was on this issue where Tillis said Tuesday that he and Martin “probably had our biggest disagreement.” He added that if Martin were nominated to lead a different US attorney’s office besides the Washington office, which led the Jan. 6 prosecutions, he probably would have voted for him to advance.

“I need somebody in that role who believes that every single person that came into this building illegally should have suffered some consequence,” Tillis said.

Tillis’ opposition would mean a tie vote at the committee, assuming all Democrats vote against him as expected, which isn’t sufficient to move it forward absent additional procedural maneuvers.

Clock Ticking

A vote on Martin’s nomination wasn’t included among the agenda items for the Judiciary Committee’s scheduled May 8 meeting, which are expected to be pushed until May 15 under panel rules. That means the earliest date Martin could receive a vote at the committee would be May 22, preventing him from being confirmed before his term as interim US attorney expires on May 20.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that while Martin may continue to serve as acting US attorney until May 20, his nomination is finished “in practical terms” given Tillis’ opposition.

Martin’s replacement until the seat is filled would then be appointed by the Washington federal trial court, led by Chief Judge James Boasberg, a Barack Obama nominee overseeing litigation challenging the administration’s invocation of a wartime law to justify deportations to a prison in El Salvador.

However, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Tuesday he “wouldn’t say it’s over until it’s over.”

“We want the president’s nominees to succeed, and I put them on the agenda when we know we can succeed,” he said.

Ronald Weich, Seton Hall University School of Law’s dean and a former assistant attorney general for legislative affairs at the Justice Department, said that typically a nomination without sufficient support would be withdrawn, either by the White House or by the nominee themselves.

“If the writing is on the wall, it should be read,” he said.

White House ‘Driver’

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a Judiciary Committee member who has known Martin for years and supports his nomination, said Tuesday that Tillis’ opposition is a “problem” and acknowledged that it is “suboptimal” for the Washington federal court to fill the slot.

Still, he said it’s up to Trump to decide if he wants to continue pushing for Martin and suggested that Trump is “the driver on this nomination.”

“The president has a lot of influence. If he really wants him, he may be able to get Senator Tillis to change his mind, but I think it would probably take the president to do that,” Hawley said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), another panel member who said last week he would “take my time” on Martin’s nomination, said Tuesday he would support him if Martin gets a vote. Trump is “entitled to some deference on his choices,” Cornyn said.

Trump said Martin’s confirmation is “IMPERATIVE” in a TruthSocial post Monday night. After Tillis announced his opposition, White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer said Tuesday by email that Martin is “the right man for the job and we look forward to his confirmation.”

A group of Republican attorneys general also threw their support behind Martin in a Monday letter to Senate Republican leaders. Included in that group was Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has launched a primary challenge to Cornyn and has already sought to use Cornyn’s earlier lack of public support for Martin as a campaign issue.

Prior to his appointment as acting US attorney, Martin, a Missouri lawyer and former “Stop the Steal” advocate, had no prosecutorial experience and had never taken a case to trial, according to his Senate questionnaire. Senate Democrats have also criticized Martin for his ties to far-right Capitol rioters, including Nazi sympathizer Timothy Hale-Cusanelli.

Martin has belatedly disclosed hundreds of appearances on Russian propaganda and other media outlets, which he was required to include in original materials to the committee.

Senate Democrats had called on the Judiciary Committee to take the unusual step of holding a hearing on Martin’s nomination, not typically done for US attorney nominees.