Deadline looms allowing left-wing court to select US attorney as state AGs urge confirmation of Trump pick
FIRST ON FOX: Twenty-three state attorneys general sent a letter to Senate leaders on Monday urging lawmakers to swiftly confirm President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, ahead of a May 20 deadline, when judges on a court led by Trump-antagonist Judge James Boasberg could select a temporary replacement.
"To put it bluntly, the District of Columbia is broken. And four years of alleged corruption, mismanagement, and derelictions of duty in the U.S. Attorney’s Office under President Biden’s appointees are in many ways to blame. The District should be made safe again. The District should have a U.S. Attorney who replaces the rule of lawfare with the rule of law. Ed Martin is the man to achieve those goals. We strongly encourage the Senate to confirm him at the earliest possible date," reads the letter, which was first exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
It was sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley on Monday afternoon.
The letter comes as a May 20 deadline looms to confirm the Trump nominee, when his role as interim U.S. attorney runs dry after 120 days in the role. Martin, who previously worked as a defense attorney and represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in 2021, was named interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia beginning on Inauguration Day.
If an interim U.S. attorney is not confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, judges on the federal district court for that district can name a new interim U.S. attorney until a nominee is confirmed, Department of Justice documents show. Trump antagonist Judge James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judge at the center of legal efforts targeting Trump's deportation efforts, is the current chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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Trump has previously slammed the entire D.C. District Court, saying it would be "virtually impossible" for him to get an "honest ruling" after Boasberg blocked Trump's Venezuelan deportation flights in March.
"Our Nation’s Courts are broken, with New York and DC being the most preeminent of all in their Corruption and Radicalism. There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late!" Trump posted to Truth Social in March.
Indiana Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita spearheaded the letter and told Fox Digital on Monday that Martin has already shown in his few months serving on an interim basis that "he’s a proven leader."
"I am proud to lead this effort to support Ed Martin because he’s a proven leader who is already devoting all of his time to restoring the rule of law in our nation’s capital," Rokita said. "His bold actions have had an immediate impact, which sent the disreputable D.C. news media into a full-blown meltdown - the Senate must act swiftly to confirm him and ensure his critical work continues uninterrupted."
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The letter similarly argued that the Senate confirmation process should go smoothly as lawmakers can already examine Martin's track record in the role.
"The Senate does not have to wonder or speculate about whether Mr. Martin will lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office with honor and skill," the state attorneys general continued in their letter. "As interim U.S. Attorney for the District since January 20, 2025, he has shown conclusively that he has what it takes to serve in that role with integrity and a fearless commitment to do what is right on behalf of the American people. And there are few offices in the American justice system that could use that kind of leader now as much as the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office."
The 23 states that joined the letter include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Martin's confirmation has stalled, however, with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, voicing concerns about the nomination during the committee’s May 1 executive business meeting.
"Last Friday, we received responses from Mr. Martin to our questions, and it raised even more questions. Mr. Martin made a number of false statements and contradictory statements that are easily disproven by the material he himself disclosed in his Senate Judiciary Questionnaire. And it wasn’t just to my questions—it was to Chairman Grassley’s questions as well," Durbin said during the meeting.
The AGs took specific issue with how crime has spiraled in the nation's capital under the Biden administration, which they cited was related to the justice system and failing to prosecute criminals.
"Under President Biden, public safety and the quality of life deteriorated in the District of Columbia. Matthew Graves—President Biden’s appointee as chief federal prosecutor for District—oversaw during his tenure a deeply troubling increase in crime in the nation’s capital. In 2023 alone, the number of homicides in D.C. increased by 35% over the previous year. Robberies were up 67%. Car theft skyrocketed by 82%. All the while, Mr. Graves declined to prosecute over two-thirds of all criminal cases brought to his office. In this way, President Biden brought to the District the same lax-on-crime policies that have benighted many of America’s largest cities for decades," they wrote.
Since taking over the position, Martin has overseen the dismissals of various Jan. 6 cases after Trump pardoned and commuted the defendants.
Martin also published a fiery letter in February vowing to hold to account those who try to sabotage the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to clean the federal government of overspending and corruption. Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 Jan. 6 criminal defendants upon taking office earlier this year.
"I recognize that some of the staff at DOGE have been targeted publicly," Martin wrote to Elon Musk in the February letter. "At this time, I ask that you utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting the DOGE work and the DOGE workers. Any threats, confrontations or other actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws."
"Let me assure you of this: We will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people," he continued. "We will not act like the previous administration who looked the other way as the Antifa and BLM rioters as well as thugs with guns trashed our capital city. We will protect DOGE and other workers no matter what."
In their letter, the state attorneys general said Martin has done more to crack down on crime during his few months as interim leader than his predecessor did under the Biden administration.
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"Mr. Martin has prosecuted and seized the assets of pro-Hamas protestors who defaced monuments and assaulted police. He has pursued and indicted Chinese-backed hackers who threatened our national security. He has prosecuted and disrupted the operations of gangs of illegal aliens. He has rooted out and brought to justice corrupt civil servants who stole taxpayer money. He has done more in less than four months to restore law and order to the District than Matthew Graves did in nearly four years," they wrote.