By Allan Lengel
Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, 55, is cooked. Finished. Kaput.
After it became apparent Martin did not have the support in the Senate to be confirmed, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would find a replacement. Martin held a 120-day interim appointment, which is valid through May 20.
Martin had vowed to go after Trump’s enemies and fired or demoted career prosecutors who had investigated Trump or January 6 defendants. He was also an election denier.
For Democrats, Martin played to their greatest fears — a Justice Department official they saw as carrying out the Trump agenda without any independence.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Martin’s fate was sealed on Tuesday when Senator Thom Tillis, a key Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he would not support the nomination because of Mr. Martin’s work on behalf of the rioters. That dealt a fatal blow to his path to confirmation, leaving the committee deadlocked at 11 to 11, with all 10 Democrats on the panel opposing Mr. Martin. Republican leaders had said they would not take procedural steps to force a vote on the floor.
