Martin was installed as interim U.S. Attorney by Trump on January 20, 2025, and was formally nominated shortly after. In just a few months, he’s re-focused the office on fighting violent crime and, more importantly, on rooting out corruption inside the federal government.
“I have cases that I’m working on, that my office is working on, that are all over the world,” Martin said on Breitbart News Daily in April. “Because we have jurisdiction, because of the way either an entity is based in D.C. or an American is overseas and has some connection to Washington, DC.”
Martin’s work is shaking things up — and not in a way the Washington swamp likes. Instead of targeting parents at school board meetings or harassing religious Americans, Martin is going after voter fraud, taxpayer scams, and political corruption.
Sen. Thom Tillis, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee — the same body that must approve Martin’s nomination — is refusing to offer his support.
Why? Tillis has reportedly expressed concerns about Martin’s past work representing January 6 defendants. Now, with the clock ticking, he may be stalling Trump’s pick just long enough for the courts to step in.
“Senator Tillis looks forward to meeting with Ed Martin,” his spokesman said. “Our understanding is that if the Senate does not confirm a U.S. Attorney before an acting U.S. Attorney’s term expires, the Attorney General can still pick the next acting replacement if it is done before the term expires under 28 USC 546.”
But here’s the catch — Attorney General Pam Bondi’s options are limited.
Bondi could try to use the Federal Vacancy Reform Act to install someone else for 200 days. But the law requires that person to already be Senate-confirmed or hold a high-level government role — a tall order this early in Trump’s new term. Alternatively, she could install another interim U.S. Attorney for just 120 days, but that’s just delaying the inevitable.
If no one is confirmed after that window, the district court — led by Judge Boasberg — gets to appoint the new U.S. Attorney.
And that’s where the trouble really begins.
Boasberg, already seen by many conservatives as deeply hostile to Trump and his movement, could appoint Jack Smith or someone just as aggressively anti-Trump. If that happens, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office — which was finally starting to pursue real justice under Martin — would flip back into the hands of the very people Trump was elected to stand up against.
It’s worth repeating how important this office is. It acts as both:
- A federal prosecutor, and
- A local district attorney for Washington, D.C.
That means it handles everything from violent street crime to federal corruption cases.
Under Biden, the office ignored violent crime and focused instead on punishing political enemies. Martin changed that quickly — and it’s no surprise that the Deep State is scrambling to stop him before he goes any further.
“President Trump has said we’re going to focus on stopping the weaponization of government,” Martin said during his interview with Breitbart News Daily. “We’re going to just enforce the law based on the facts.”
As it stands, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — who chairs the Judiciary Committee — has not yet scheduled a hearing for Martin, but is said to be reviewing his final nomination materials. Sources indicate Grassley will bring Martin to the committee only if it looks like the nomination can survive, which puts the pressure squarely on Tillis.
This isn’t the first time Tillis has been seen as a potential obstacle to Trump’s nominees. But in the past, he’s changed course under public pressure. According to his spokesman:
“Senator Tillis trusts his Republican colleagues to ensure that all of President Trump’s nominees get a fair confirmation process… any nominee that gets a favorable vote out of committee will get the Senator’s vote on the floor.”
But if Tillis won’t help move Martin’s nomination forward in committee, it may never reach the Senate floor — and that’s what Democrats are hoping for.
Time is running out. If Martin isn’t confirmed, and the Senate fumbles this nomination, Trump could lose control of one of the most important legal tools his administration has to fight corruption and restore law and order.
Without Martin, it’s possible the very office that helped target Trump and his supporters during the Biden era could fall right back into enemy hands.
The question now is: Will Senator Tillis help his party — or help the opposition?
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