The US Senate has confirmed Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and staunch Donald Trump ally, as the top federal prosecutor for Washington DC. The vote on Saturday was 50-45 along party lines. Pirro, who previously served as a New York state district attorney and county judge, joined Fox News in 2011 and hosted 'Justice with Judge Jeanine' before becoming a co-host on 'The Five'.
Pirro used her platform at Fox News to promote baseless claims that Trump lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud. In 2021, she was among several Fox News hosts named in a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, which the network settled for $787.5m, acknowledging the fraud claims were false.
Pirro has been serving as interim US attorney since May, when Trump nominated her months into his second presidency. Trump praised her as a 'powerful crusader for victims of crime' and said she 'excelled in all ways'. Attorney General Pam Bondi called her 'a warrior for law and order'.
Pirro is one of several Trump loyalists with Fox ties in the administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Senator Adam Schiff criticised her confirmation, saying 'blind obedience to Donald Trump is nearly unrivaled among his ardent supporters'.
