President Donald Trump has appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to serve as Washington DC's interim US attorney, after Ed Martin, the current interim job holder and Trump's first pick to hold the job on a permanent basis, failed to garner enough support to advance in the US Senate.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump lauded Pirro's prior experience as an assistant district attorney in Westchester County, New York, and as a county judge.
"During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime. Her establishment of the Domestic Violence Bureau in her Prosecutor's Office was the first in the Nation. She excelled in all ways," he wrote.
Trump's announcement came just hours after he told reporters during a White House event that he would be withdrawing Martin's nomination due to a lack of support in the US Senate for it to proceed.
"I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that's the way it works
Martin faced opposition over his conduct in office, political advocacy and support for people who took part in the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
His tenure has been marked by Trump's sweeping pardons for nearly all of the January 6 participants, firings and demotions of career prosecutors who worked on those investigations and unusual public threats to investigate people - including members of Congress - who have opposed the Trump administration's agenda.
Pirro is likely to face questions from Senate Democrats over her prominent role in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over claims spread on her show and others on Fox News that the company helped rig the 2020 election against Trump.
Fox News settled the lawsuit for $US787 million ($A1.2 billion) in 2023.
Pirro was also reportedly suspended by the network in 2019 after suggesting that Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar's Muslim faith may conflict with the US Constitution.