WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump announced that he is withdrawing Ed Martin's nomination for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. and will be selecting a different candidate due to Republican pushback regarding his ties to the Jan. 6 rioters.
During a White House event unveiling a U.S.-United Kingdom trade deal, Trump stated, "We have somebody else that will be great. Ed is unbelievable and hopefully we can bring him into - whether it's DOJ or whatever, in some capacity."
The confirmation of Martin was put into question after Judiciary Committee Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., expressed his opposition to Martin serving as the top U.S. attorney in the district that has been handling Jan. 6 cases.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, did not include Martin's nomination on the committee's meeting agenda on May 8.
Trump had appointed Ed Martin as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day and Martin has since made significant changes within the office, including firing prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6-related cases and launching investigations into Democrats.
Martin had shown support for the Jan. 6 rioters and had represented defendants in related cases. Trump, on his first day of his second term, pardoned over 1,500 individuals charged in the attack.
When asked about a backup plan if Martin's nomination failed, Trump responded that he did have one and expressed his disappointment in the situation. He mentioned that a new nominee would be announced in the next two days.