Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who became the acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, aka America’s capital, has now been confirmed to fill the top federal prosecutor’s post. The US Senate finalised the decision after the 74-year-old came out on top in a 50-45 vote to served as US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Pirro and the top Washington DC prosecutor post officially became inseparable this week after US President Donald Trump got rid of his initial pick, conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. In addition to being a former Fox News stalwart, the TV host is a former county prosecutor and elected judge. She first took on the US attorney for DC role on interim basis on May 28.
“Jeanine is incredibly well-qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York,” said Donald Trump when he nominated the onetime New York judge. “She is in a class by herself.”
Jeanine Pirro controversy: Not so different from Trump’s first pick for US attorney job?
Although not Trump’s first choice for the top prosecutor role, she has made her own share of controversial headlines like Ed Martin, who was unable to gain support among Republicans.
Congratulations to @USAttyPirro @JudgeJeanine for her confirmation to serve as US Attorney for DC. We look forward to working with you to hold criminals accountable and reduce crime in the Nation’s Capital. https://t.co/TCTYwJlWiG
— DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion) August 3, 2025
Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee once called her an “election denialist” for “recklessly peddling President Trump’s Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in.” Accusations of her doubling down on the MAGA leader’s 2020 election fraud claims are now but part of her personality identifiers as she defended Trump after the January 6 US Capitol attack in 2021.
At the time, she was a Fox News host, and Trump remained a frequent interviewee in her show “The Five.” Akin to Pirro backing the Republican leader, Ed Martin was also dragged for his outspoken support for those who participated in the Capitol insurrection.
Back in 2021, Pirro, alongside Fox News and others, was named as a defendant in a $2.7 billion libel suit filed by voting technology company Smartmatic USA. She has been accused of disseminating false claims that the company was in instrumental in “stealing” the 2020 US presidential election from Trump.
More about Jeanine Pirro: Education, family, social media
Born on June 2, 1951, Jeanine graduated from Albany Law School in 1975 and was elected as a judge in New York’s Westchester County Court in 1990. Prior to that, she was the county’s elected district attorney for three terms. Business Insider reports her net worth as $11.6 million on the basis of her disclosure form given to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to the New York Times, Pirro first crossed paths with her ex-husband Albert J Pirro Jr during her collegiate days at Albany Law School in the ’70s. Her former partner was four years her senior at the time. They ultimately got hitched in 1975, with their nearly 40-year-long marriage devolving into a divorce in 2013.
On the last day of his first term as president, Trump pardoned the TV personality’s ex-husband – a longtime GOP donor. Al Pirro was convicted of tax evasion and conspiracy in 2000.
The former spouses share two children, daughter Christi and son Alexander.
Jeanine Pirro’s Instagram handle is @judge_jeanine, where she also posted the celebratory news of the 50-45 Senate confirmation vote on Saturday (US time). She also goes by @JudgeJeanine on X.
“I am blessed to have received a Senate confirmation vote this evening of 50 to 45 to be the United States attorney for the District of Columbia the largest United States Attorney’s Office in the country. Thank you to those senators who supported my confirmation and DC- get ready for a real crime fighter,” she posted online.