A Republican senator won’t be supporting President Donald Trump’s pick for federal prosecutor in Washington because of their past comments on the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots.
Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday that he has informed the White House that he won’t be supporting Ed Martin, Trump’s nominee for federal prosecutor, after having met with him Monday.
Martin has been serving as acting U.S. attorney for D.C. for the past few months, but his interim appointment is slated to expire May 20. Though Trump has fiercely lobbied for Martin to permanently assume the role, his defense of Jan. 6 rioters has hindered his standing with the likes of Tillis.
“We have to be very very clear that what happened on January 6th was wrong,” Tillis told reporters Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. “It was not prompted. It was not prompted or created by other people to put those people in trouble. They made a stupid decision, and they disgraced the United States by absolutely destroying the Capitol.”
He added that though it’s “debatable” what consequences different rioters should have faced, he had “no tolerance for anyone who entered the [Capitol] building.”
Trump has been fiercely vouching for Martin, posting on Truth Social Monday: “Ed is coming up on the deadline for Voting and, if approved, HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”
White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer also reaffirmed Trump’s pick in a statement to The New York Times Tuesday, describing him as a “fantastic U.S. Attorney for D.C.” who “will continue to implement the President’s law-and-order agenda.”
With Tillis opposing Martin’s nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee will likely be left deadlocked at 11 to 11. If his appointment expires on May 20, the Federal District Court in Washington would fill Martin’s spot until the Trump administration appoints a new nominee, according to The Times.
Senate Republicans might also try to advance Martin’s nomination out of committee without a recommendation, Politico reasons.
Martin was a former chair of the Missouri Republican Party. As acting U.S. attorney, he’s drawn attention for referring to the D.C. office, the nation’s largest of federal prosecutors, as “President Trump’s lawyers.” He also fired several prosecutors and demoted senior attorneys who worked on Capitol riot cases.
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