Senate confirms Jeanine Pirro as US attorney for DC

The Senate on Saturday night confirmed President Trump’s pick Jeanine Pirro as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Pirro, a former Fox News host and prosecutor who served as district attorney for Westchester County in New York, was confirmed along party lines in a 50-45 vote. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) did not vote.

Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the vote in a post on the social platform X.

“Congratulations to my dear friend @USAttyPirro on her confirmation today! Jeanine is not only a wonderful person — she is a warrior for law and order,” Bondi wrote.

“I am absolutely thrilled to work side by side with my friend to keep Washington, DC safe,” she added.

In a post on Saturday, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Pirro “should never be a permanent U.S. Attorney.”

“She endorsed the firing of January 6 prosecutors. She recklessly spread the Big Lie to the point her *own producers* had to tell her to cool it. Ultimately, she’s a rubber stamp for Donald Trump,” he wrote.

The Judiciary panel gave its approval to Pirro in mid-July despite Democratic backlash. Democrats walked out of a business meeting after debate on Pirro and another controversial Trump nominee was cut short.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in his own X post that it was “a sad moment for the Senate and the country.”

“Republicans just confirmed Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Yes, the same Judge Jeanine that even Fox News said was ‘crazy’ and had to take off the air. How can they vote to confirm these people?” the Democratic senator wrote.

Pirro, who has been serving as the interim U.S. attorney in D.C. since May, thanked Trump in a post on X “for giving me the opportunity to bring justice to the swamp in D.C.” She shared a message for the city: “get ready for a real crime fighter.”