Former Missouri Republican Party Chairman Ed Martin’s bid to be the permanent U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., is over.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he would nominate someone else to take Martin’s place.
The decision came after U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, said he couldn’t support Martin, who had served as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., for a little under three months. Since Tillis is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his stance put into question whether Martin’s nomination could even make it to the full Senate.
“He wasn't getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump said during a press conference on tariffs at the White House. “I'm very disappointed in that. But I have so many different things that I'm doing now with the trade. … I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day.”
Martin, who relocated to Virginia a few years ago, was a prominent figure in Missouri politics throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In addition to being the state Republican Party chairman, he was on the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, then-Gov. Matt Blunt’s chief of staff and the head of the Eagle Forum.
But Martin’s tenure in Missouri was as tumultuous as his time as the interim D.C. U.S. attorney. He left Blunt’s office in 2007 during a firestorm over email retention. He was also engaged in a bitter legal battle over the future of Eagle Forum, an iconic conservative group that the late Phyllis Schlafly founded.
And he often made highly controversial comments, including during a 2015 episode of Politically Speaking when he called for a pause on all immigration because people of some nationalities “refuse to assimilate.”
More recently, Tillis and Democratic lawmakers chastised Martin for his role as attorney in defending participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection. He also made headlines for promising to pursue legal action against people who interfere with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump said he would like to bring Martin, who was originally picked to be chief of staff for the Office of Management and Budget, into his administration — potentially into the Department of Justice.
“I just want to say Ed is unbelievable,” Trump said. “It was disappointing. A lot of people were disappointed, but that's the way it works.”
Later on Thursday, Trump announced on TruthSocial that Martin would "will be moving to the Department of Justice as the new Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney."
Had Trump not withdrawn Martin’s nomination and the Senate not confirmed it by May 20, a federal judge would have temporarily picked someone else to serve as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
Some Missouri Republicans said privately they were surprised that Martin received the nomination in the first place, not only because of his track record of controversy but because he had no prosecutorial experience.
Still, Missouri U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, backed Martin’s nomination. Hawley even appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast this week urging his colleagues to approve the nomination.
Spokespeople for Schmitt and Hawley did not immediately respond to Trump’s decision to withdraw Martin’s nomination.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Trump was smart to pull Martin's nomination — especially since Tillis' nomination would have likely made it difficult for him to emerge out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He also said that some of Martin's moves as interim U.S. Attorney, including what was widely seen as running interference for Musk, weren't well received.
"I think that Martin was his own worst enemy, in some ways," Tobias said. "Because he had an opportunity to show he could do it as the interim for 100 days. And he just didn't do a very good job. He alienated lots of people."
While he didn’t have a vote on whether Martin stayed as a U.S. attorney permanently, U.S. Rep. Welsey Bell, D-St. Louis County, signed a letter from other House Democrats released on Wednesday criticizing Martin for appearing on state-funded Russian television 150 times.
“As U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Mr. Martin would wield significant influence in both national and international legal matters,” the letter stated. “His potential to spread information that aligns with Vladmir Putin could undermine U.S. efforts to support Ukraine in its ongoing struggle for sovereignty. His affiliation with Russian-backed media narratives could signal an erosion of U.S. leadership in supporting global democracy.”
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had also lambasted Martin, calling him unqualified for such an important role.
“Mr. Martin’s record made it clear that he does not have the temperament or judgment to be entrusted with the power and responsibility of being U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia," Durbin said in a statement. "I’m relieved to see that his nomination will be withdrawn by the White House.”
