Ed Martin’s troubled bid to become U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is in real doubt after the Senate Judiciary Committee announced it wouldn’t consider his nomination this week.
Late Monday night, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans noticed an executive business meeting for Thursday that didn’t include Martin’s nomination. Time is running out for Martin, who can only serve 120 days as the interim U.S. attorney before President Donald Trump will have to choose another nominee.
With the May 20 deadline approaching, and Democrats able to hold up the nomination for a week under committee rules, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will have to move quickly next week on the nomination.
But Grassley still hasn’t scheduled a vote on Martin’s nomination. In the face of overwhelming Democratic opposition, Republicans said Martin hadn’t submitted all the required paperwork to be considered yet.
Democrats are also pressing for a public hearing on Martin’s nomination, which is rare for a U.S. attorney nominee. Grassley told Republicans in a private meeting last week that he doesn’t want to do that.
The delay in Martin’s nomination came as Trump publicly pressed GOP senators to back Martin.
Trump has been calling Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans on Martin’s behalf, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has expressed concerns over the nomination, according to Republican senators and aides.
Trump posted a long, meandering statement Monday night on Truth Social calling for Martin’s confirmation. Trump tied Martin – currently the acting U.S. attorney for D.C. — to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the “Make America Healthy Again” movement:
“Ed Martin is going through the approval process to be U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia. According to many but, in particular, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., his approval is IMPERATIVE in terms of doing all that has to be done to SAVE LIVES and to[,] MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN…
“Ed Martin will be a big player in doing so and, I hope, that the Republican Senators will make a commitment to his approval, which is now before them. Ed is coming up on the deadline for Voting and, if approved, HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”
Martin is a highly controversial nominee with a history of representing Jan. 6 rioters and associating with neo-Nazis. The extreme nature of the nomination was on full display on Monday when Martin sent a letter to Judiciary Committee leaders recapping media appearances he failed to initially disclose.
Martin said he “inadvertently” omitted links to dozens of interviews, including on Russia-linked Sputnik Radio and Russia Today, as well as Alex Jones’ outlet, Infowars.
This is the fourth time Martin has had to supplement his original disclosures with new information.
Several Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans haven’t yet said how they’ll vote on Martin despite the Trump pressure.
