Trump yanks ex-Missouri GOP chair Ed Martin's nomination for top D.C. prosecutor

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will replace Ed Martin, the former Missouri GOP chair whose controversial nomination to be Washington, D.C.’s top prosecutor has been in question since his Jan. 20 appointment as interim U.S. attorney.

Trump praised Martin but told reporters that he would be announcing a replacement for the position soon.

“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought; he’s done a very good job,” Trump said at the end of a White House announcement of a trade deal with the United Kingdom. “Crime is down 25% in D.C. during his period of time … I just want to say Ed is unbelievable, and hopefully we can bring him in, too, whether it’s DOJ or whatever, in some capacity, because he’s really outstanding.”

Trump said he was frustrated at senators’ reluctance to advance Martin’s nomination.

“I have to be straight,” he said. “I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that’s the way it works sometimes, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard.

“And we have somebody else that we’ll be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.”

Trump appointed Martin as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on the day of his inauguration. Martin, a Trump loyalist, can remain in the position until May 20, the deadline for his confirmation.

In his 15 weeks as U.S. attorney, Martin — a Trump loyalist — has regularly made headlines over actions that included firing and demoting prosecutors in his office who worked Jan. 6 cases, referring to his office as “President Trump’s lawyers” and using the department’s power to go after Trump’s enemies.

He’s also been sharply criticized for being an organizer of the “Stop the Steal” movement and representing three Jan. 6 defendants — among them, Kansas City-area Proud Boy William Chrestman.

Critics repeatedly have pointed out that Martin has no prosecutorial experience, even though he would be leading the nation’s biggest and among the most high-profile U.S. attorney offices. The U.S. attorney for D.C. has the unique role of prosecuting both federal and serious local crimes.

Martin’s confirmation suffered a major blow on Tuesday when Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that he would not support him. That could have resulted in a tie vote in the committee, which is composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

Tillis said he made the decision after talking to Martin on Monday. He cited Martin’s support of Jan. 6 defendants as a key reason for his opposition.

Senate Democrats pushed for hearing

Senate Democrats had been pushing Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to hold a confirmation hearing for Martin. But such hearings are rare for U.S. attorney positions — one hasn’t taken place in decades.

Last week, Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spent seven minutes during a committee hearing pointing out concerns about Martin.

Durbin said Martin “made a number of false statements and contradictory statements” in his responses to hundreds of questions from the committee.

He brought up Martin’s relationship with Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, whom he called “a Jan. 6 rioter and a Nazi sympathizer.” Martin said in response to a submitted question from Grassley that “I am not close with Mr. Hale-Cusanelli, and I otherwise do not have close consistent interactions with him.”

But Durbin said Martin interviewed Hale-Cusanelli at least five times in 2024, and in one interview said, “’Tim Hale is an extraordinary guy. I got to know him real well. I say we’re friends over the last few years, and especially in the last month since he’s been out of jail.’”

Martin said that he wasn’t aware of Hale-Cusanelli’s comments and views until after Martin presented him with an award at a ceremony last summer during an event at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

At the ceremony, Durbin said, Martin called Hale-Cusanelli “an extraordinary man, an extraordinary leader.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, put a hold on Martin’s nomination last month in an attempt to block it.

In an April 17 video, Schiff said Martin “not only pushed the Big Lie, but also represented people on January 6 who were there and assaulting the Capitol. In fact, Ed Martin was at the Capitol on January 6. Here’s what Ed Martin had to say about what he observed on January 6: ‘Mardi Gras in DC, love, faith and joy.’

“This guy is patently unfit for office … He is disqualified, and I’m going to do everything to stop his confirmation,” Schiff said.

Martin has had the support of Missouri Sens. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, as well as former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.

Blunt sent a letter to Durbin last month saying he strongly supported Martin’s confirmation.

“My most consistent and direct experience with Ed was during his service as my chief of staff in the governor’s office,” Blunt wrote in the letter dated April 16. “In that role, he demonstrated integrity, diligence and sound judgment in shaping public policy for the state.

“The people of Missouri benefited from his energetic and principled public service.”