The White House / Flickr (Left), Ed Martin / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Ed Martin will assume multiple senior roles at the Department of Justice (DOJ), just days after Senate opposition derailed his nomination for US attorney in D.C.
Martin, a Catholic, will serve as Director of the DOJ’s new Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and US Pardon Attorney, operating under Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Ed Martin has done an AMAZING job as interim U.S. Attorney, and will be moving to the Department of Justice as the new Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney,” Trump wrote on social media. “In these highly important roles, Ed will make sure to finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims.”
Martin’s nomination was pulled after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would not support it, citing Martin’s legal defense of Jan. 6 defendants. The move effectively blocked Martin’s nomination despite praise from Trump, who pointed to Martin’s record and a drop in violent crime during his interim tenure in D.C.
“He is a terrific person,” Trump said Thursday. “He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought. I’m very disappointed in that. But I have so many different things that I’m doing now with the trade. One person, I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day. But we have somebody else that will be great.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Weaponization Working Group that Martin will head is tasked with identifying politically motivated persecution and abuse within federal law enforcement.
In a post shared by Martin, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk praised the appointment.
“The left got its wish,” he wrote. “Ed Martin won’t be U.S. attorney for D.C. Instead, he’ll get a senior DOJ job heading the investigation into Biden-era weaponization of the DOJ against conservatives.”
“Be careful what you wish for, libs. You just might get it!” he added.
As pardon attorney, Martin will oversee the review of federal clemency applications and advise the president on pardons.
Trump also named Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host and former county prosecutor, as interim US attorney for D.C. Like Martin, she can only serve in the role for 120 days without Senate confirmation.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
