The plan of President Donald Trump to promote the interim lawyer of the United States for the Columbia district, Ed Martin, who has repeatedly defended on January 6 of the protesters, to the permanent position seems to face a battle uphill after a Republican of the key Senate said on Tuesday that he would not support the nomination.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina told ABC News that he will not support Trump’s nominee to become the next American prosecutor in Washington, DC, a message that, he says, has been transmitted to the White House.
“At this point, I have indicated to the White House that I would not support its nomination,” ABC News told ABC News.
Tillis met Martin on Monday night after he publicly expressed the reluctance on Martin’s nomination due to concerns about his work that represents on January 6 and the inflammatory comments passed on the riots.
Interim Prosecutor of the United States for the Columbia District Edward Martin during a monthly meeting of the Anacostia Coordination Council in Washington, on March 25, 2025.
The Washington Post through Getty Images
Martin, Tillis said, did a “good job by explaining how there were people who were probably trapped in him,” but that was not enough to satisfy their concerns.
“I think anyone who violated the perimeter should have been in prison for some period of time,” Tillis said. “If it’s 30 days or three years, it is debatable, but I have no tolerance for anyone who entered the building on January 6, and that is probably where most friction was,” Tillis said.
Tillis is a key republican vote on the Judicial Committee of the Senate that will be responsible for determining whether to advance in Martin’s nomination to a final vote on the Senate’s floor.
Martin has served as an interim prosecutor of the United States since the beginning of the administration, but its interim term expires on May 20, which means that it would need to be confirmed by then to continue leading the office.
One way to follow is that the main judge of the DC District Court, Judge Jeb Boasberg, elects the next nominee.
That is extremely unlikely that Trump’s apparent disdain for Boasberg has been given, who has supervised a series of related cases of Trump.
Boasberg recently found a probable cause that the Trump administration acted in contempt of court when officials in March ignored their order to deliver two planes that transport alleged members of Venezuelan gangs to El Salvador.
If Tillis votes with all the Democrats to oppose the nomination and no other Republican turns, the committee will join, and Martin’s nomination will not be sent to the floor for a final vote.
But there are still some ways to avoid this. Tillis could choose to vote to advance without recommendation, allowing the nomination to go to the Senate’s floor even without Tillis’s support.
Losing more Republicans in the panel could be insurmountable.
Interim Prosecutor of the United States for the Columbia District Edward Martin during a monthly meeting of the Anacostia Coordination Council in Washington, on March 25, 2025.
The Washington Post through Getty Images
The moment of the vote of a judicial committee is also in flow at this time, since a source close to the confirmation process confirms that the judicial president Chuck Grassley has not included a vote of the Committee by Martin on the committee’s agenda this week in the midst of growing concerns about his support on the Platina.
This delay could make the Senate impossible to take a final vote on Martin before May 20.
The White House reiterated its support for Martin in a X publication Tuesday.
“Ed Martin is a fantastic prosecutor from the United States for DC and will continue to implement the law and order of the president in Washington. He is the right man for work and we expect his confirmation,” said Alex Pfeiffer, the spokesman for the White House, Alex Pfeiffer.
Martin, who has been competing for becoming the main prosecutor in one of the offices of the most important US prosecutor in the nation, promoted the “Stop The Weal” campaign by Donald Trump and was seen on the fields of the Capitol during the attack on the United States Capitol.
His mandate leading the office has been full of controversy.
Senator Thom Tillis speaks while Senate’s Finance Committee votes to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services, February 4, 2025 in Washington
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Martin has moved to shoot or degrade dozens of superior career lawyers who investigated the attack of the Capitol, has sent threatening letters to the main Democrats and other political opponents of President Trump, which suggests that he would attack them with criminal investigations.
Recently he had to apologize for his past praise of a fuss of January 6 that had a long history of anti -Semitic statements and that infamously published photos of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler.
Martin has also had to provide multiple supplementary letters to the committee in recent weeks after not revealing numerous appearances in the media media of the extreme right such as Infowars and Russian-Propaganda Networks Sputnik and RT.
Trump urged Republicans to vote for Martin, saying on their social media platform on Monday night that “if approved, it will not disappoint you.”
