STRANGE MOVE: Jeanine Pirro LEAVES Fox News – Amid Scandal or Rising Star?

President Donald Tr::mp named Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro to be the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., per his Thursday, May 8 Truth Social post.

“During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime,” Tr::mp, 78, wrote in his announcement after detailing her law enforcement background. “Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself.”

Pirro, 73, formerly served as the judge of the Westchester County Court, N.Y., in 1991-1993. Next, she served as the Republican district attorney of Westchester County, N.Y., from 1994 to 2005. She then stepped down to run against then-Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. However, she then announced her run for New York attorney general instead, which she lost to Andrew Cuomo.

In 2006, Pirro joined Fox News and later hosted Justice with Judge Jeanine. Since 2022, she has been a co-host on Fox News’ The Five. Due to Tr::mp’s recent announcement, she is leaving effective immediately, a Fox News Media spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE. A rotation of Fox News personalities will fill her position on The Five until a new co-host is named.

“Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across Fox News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said.

Pirro is Tr::mp’s latest selection of a government official who previously worked on Fox News. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth previously hosted Fox & Friends.

Jeanine Pirro on December 05, 2024 in Greenvale, New York. Theo Wargo/Getty

Earlier on Thursday, Tr::mp said current Washington D.C. interim top prosecutor Ed Martin would not be taking the position permanently. Martin has been serving in the position since Tr::mp’s Jan. 20 Inauguration, and his interim term concludes on May 20.

The president withdrew Martin from consideration after Republican senators said they would not support Martin because he defended ri0ters who st0rmed the Capit0l on Jan. 6, 2021, per the Associated Press.

“He’s a terrific person, and he wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Tr::mp told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, per the Associated Press. “But we have somebody else that will be great.”

Pirro has supported Tr::mp since his 2016 campaign and defended him during the Access Hollyw00d tape scandal, per The New York Times. During his first administration, in 2019, Pirro was reportedly suspended by Fox News after she questioned whether Muslim C0ngresswoman Ilhan 0mar, 37, held anti-Constitutional beliefs due to her religion.

In the final hour of Tr::mp’s first term, he issued a last-minute pard0n to Pirro’s ex-husb@nd, a longtime GOP donor, Albert Pirro. He was c0nvicted in 2000 on 34 counts of c0nspiracy and t@x evasi0n.

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Donald Tr::mp on May 30, 2024 in New York City.James Devaney/GC Images

Additionally, following Tr::mp’s loss in the 2020 el3ction, Jeanine was named as a defendant in a d3famation l@wsuit seeking $1.6 billion filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

The suit alleged that she and the other Fox News hosts purposefully shared falseh00ds on air that the company’s voting machines contributed to the notion that the 2020 U.S. presidential el3ction was “stolen.” In April 2023, Fox News Media paid a $787.5 million settlement and acknowledged that statements were false.

She has also been named in a similar, still pending, lawsuit filed by voting-tech vendor Smartmatic.