MAGA’s online power brokers unloaded on Republican Senator Thom Tillis Wednesday after he said he would not vote to confirm Ed Martin as Washington’s top prosecutor.
Martin had been nominated to be U.S. attorney for Washington D.C., a job he is temporarily holding in an acting capacity and which he has turned into an attack vehicle against Trump’s perceived enemies and to promote MAGA’s culture war topics.
Tillis, who is up for re-election in purple North Carolina next year, said on Tuesday: “I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on Jan. 6.
“At this point, I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination,” he added.
The comment was a reference to Martin’s support of the January 6 insurrectionists and his move to demote prosecutors who oversaw cases linked to the invasion of the Capitol in 2021.
If he carries out his threat not to vote along party lines to confirm Martin, who has been described as Trump’s “attack dog”, Tillis could sink the prosecutor’s chances despite being picked for the top job by the president.
Tillis is a member of the Judiciary Committee, and by voting against, he would deadlock it at 11-11 if the other Republicans continue to support Martin. While the committee’s vote is only a recommendation to the whole Senate, it is rare for a Senate majority leader to bring a nominee to the floor without committee approval.
The Republican majority leader, John Thune, would also face difficult prospects of getting to the crucial number of 50 with Tillis seen as mirroring the views of Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, the former majority leader, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins and Utah’s John Curtis.
Instead, Trump supporters started a pressure campaign to make Tillis change his mind, with right-wing podcaster and Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk writing on X: “Tillis’ logic is absurd. He ignores or forgets that many J6ers who entered the Capitol were waved in by Capitol Police. Many simply looked inside the building or took a selfie and left. Those people did NOT deserve to spend a day in prison.
“Tillis is handing this critical post to the Democrats. If Ed Martin is not confirmed by Senate Republicans before May 20th, Trump-hating Judge Boasberg gets to choose his replacement.”
How can any supposed “Republican” justify voting to confirm leftist thug Merrick Garland, but oppose voting to confirm @EagleEdMartin? Drain the DC Swamp. Confirm Ed Martin for US Attorney in DC!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 7, 2025
BREAKING: Sen. Tom Tillis informs the White House he is opposing President Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin.”Most of my concerns related to January 6th.””I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination.”Tillis’ logic is absurd. He… pic.twitter.com/eLdFtPB8cc
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 6, 2025
Rogan O’Handley, known by his MAGA online name DC Draino, referencing Tillis’ upcoming election, wrote on X: “Hey North Carolina, PRIMARY THOM TILLIS. Stop making us all suffer this RINO.”
The National Pulse, a pro-Trump publication, called Tillis a “traitor.”
The Trump administration didn’t sound so concerned at the uproar.
“He is the right man for the job, and we look forward to his confirmation,” said White House spokesman Alex Pfeiffer in a statement.
Trump’s MAGA base has helped force through a series of nominees initially seen as difficult for moderate Republicans to swallow, including Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at HHS.
The only high-profile nominee to be lost so far was Matt Gaetz as attorney general, but there have been some less well-known nominees withdrawn including David Weldon for the Centers for Disease Control, and Kathleen Sgamma, as director of the Bureau of Land Management—ironically for her condemnation of the January 6 rioters.
Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, has not scheduled a vote for Martin, leaving his nomination hanging indefinitely. However Martin’s ability to be the acting U.S. attorney in Washington D.C. does have a drop-dead date: He can only stay in that role until May 21.
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