Jeanine Pirro targets guns and immigration in D.C.
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President Trump made Jeanine Pirro interim U.S. Attorney in late May. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Jeanine Pirro got Senate confirmation to be U.S. Attorney for D.C., and she's zeroing in on criminal defendants' immigration status and illegal firearms.
Why it matters: A longtime Trump ally is stepping into one of the highest-profile prosecutor roles — the two go back decades in Republican New York circles, per the Washington Post.
Catch up fast: Pirro, a former judge and Fox News host, got the interim job after Ed Martin's nomination blew up, with some Republican senators unable to stomach his leniency toward Jan. 6 rioters.
- The Senate confirmed Pirro with a 50-45 vote on Saturday.
- Pirro served as a judge in Westchester County, New York, and then later as its district attorney in the 1990s and 2000s.
- "Because she was so good, they drafted her into show business," said President Trump, marveling at her ratings as co-host of Fox's "The Five."
In weekly videos, media-savvy Pirro recites criminal cases with the cadence of a news anchor, announcing "here's what we tackled this week," including an "armed robbery spree on Capitol Hill."
- "We will not only aggressively prosecute violent felons who illegally possess firearms, but also those who carry illegal firearms into our district," she said last Friday.
Zoom in: The unique nature of Pirro's position — which prosecutes both federal offenses and street-level local crime in D.C. — gives her power to scrutinize the immigration status of a wide swath of people who are in her office's custody.
- Her office prosecutes more than 7,000 people annually in D.C. Superior Court, per the Washington Post.
- "In line with President Trump's directive to 'Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful,' my office will determine every defendant's legal status as soon as a matter is brought here," Pirro announced last week.
Between the lines: The police union, which has been at loggerheads with the D.C. Council over some of its progressive police reform, congratulated Pirro on her confirmation.
- "We will work together to clean up DC," she replied on X.
What's ahead: Trump will swear in Pirro "as soon as possible," he said.