U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about a trade deal with the U.K., in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will pull his controversial nomination of Ed Martin to be the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia.
Trump’s move came as Martin, who had drawn criticism for his advocacy of Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants, faced the strong likelihood of the Senate not confirming him.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, on Tuesday said he would not support Martin’s nomination, dealing what appeared to be a final blow to his chance of winning confirmation.
Tillis cited Martin’s support for Capitol riot defendants.
“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support,” Trump said at the White House as he said he was abandoning Martin’s nomination.
“I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” the president said.
“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.”
Trump also said, “We have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s gonna be great.”
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