President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is facing rare turbulence in the Senate, as concerns mount over his qualifications, political background, and prior advocacy for individuals charged in the January 6 Capitol riot.
Ed Martin Jr., a conservative commentator and lawyer with limited courtroom experience, was named acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
Now, as his nomination for permanent appointment approaches a Senate deadline, lawmakers from both sides are signaling unease with the pick, setting up what could become the most contentious confirmation battle of Trump’s second term to date.
Unlike many of Trump’s other nominees who have sailed through confirmation, Martin has become a flashpoint. Hundreds of former attorneys from the very office he now leads have come out in opposition, and Democratic senators are pressing for a public hearing, a rare step for U.S. attorney nominees.
Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee have asked for more time to review his record, while privately acknowledging concerns about both his experience and judgment.
During a Judiciary Committee meeting on Thursday, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin noted that he believed Republican Chairman Chuck Grassley would soon announce that Martin’s nomination was being put on hold.
Grassley, however, said a vote had not been scheduled and that staff were still reviewing responses to hundreds of questions submitted to Martin. Some staffers, he said, still wanted to meet with Martin in person.
The hesitation comes after a series of moves Martin made since taking over in January that alarmed current and former Justice Department officials. Within days of assuming his interim role, Martin fired or demoted a number of senior prosecutors who had spent years leading cases against January 6 defendants. Several of them had worked on the sprawling investigation into the Capitol attack, the largest federal criminal investigation in U.S. history.
Martin himself had previously represented three Capitol riot defendants and even helped raise funds for the legal defense of others. He was a board member of the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit that has raised millions to support individuals charged in the attack.
In interviews and writings, Martin has repeatedly framed the January 6 prosecutions as politically motivated.
Before joining the Justice Department, Martin was a frequent guest on Russian state television and a staunch supporter of Trump’s claims about the 2020 election. He is also known for publishing pro-Trump materials, including coloring books that glorify the former president’s social media presence.
He has not responded to interview requests since his appointment but did tell a local news outlet in Washington that he believes the president made “the right decision” in selecting him.
“We have to keep the streets safe AND fight for America on the world stage,” he wrote recently in a Substack post. “Amazing work and I am blessed to serve Donald Trump in this way.”
Martin has positioned himself as a champion of tough-on-crime policies, launching a “Make D.C. Safe Again” campaign shortly after taking office. The initiative focused on moving more gun-related charges into federal court, where penalties are typically stiffer.
Yet the most vocal criticism has not come from progressive groups but from those who know the office best — its former staff. Many of them are troubled not just by Martin’s past but by what they see as an open hostility toward the very work they spent years building.
The wave of internal departures since Martin’s arrival has reportedly left morale in the office low. According to several former prosecutors, Martin tried to reassign them to junior roles without understanding that some no longer worked for the department at all.
One former supervisor of the January 6 team, Michael Romano, recalled Martin attempting to demote him despite his official detail having ended months earlier. “He appeared not to realize that I didn’t work for him,” said Romano, who has since joined a private firm. “It was a moment that made my eyes roll.”
Martin’s critics also point to his decision last year to present an award to Capitol riot defendant Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a known white supremacist who had previously posed with a Hitler mustache and made antisemitic remarks. At the time, Martin referred to Hale-Cusanelli as “an extraordinary guy” and “a friend.”
In testimony submitted to the Judiciary Committee, Martin later condemned those remarks, calling them “abhorrent and deplorable.” He claimed he was unaware of Hale-Cusanelli’s full history when he honored him at a political event hosted at one of Trump’s golf resorts.
Records from that same event, however, indicate Martin interviewed Hale-Cusanelli beforehand and alluded to the controversy. In that exchange, Martin accused prosecutors of deliberately releasing photos of the defendant’s Hitler-inspired look to “taint the jury pool.”
“Not your best moment, but not illegal,” Martin reportedly said at the time.
Democratic lawmakers are now pushing for an exception to committee norms by requesting a full hearing on Martin’s nomination — an uncommon move, as U.S. attorneys are usually confirmed without formal questioning and instead undergo background reviews and written submissions.
Senator Adam Schiff of California has placed a procedural hold on Martin’s nomination, meaning Republicans would have to use valuable floor time to push the vote forward — an uncommon and politically costly maneuver. Schiff has said Martin’s appointment amounts to placing a partisan activist in a role that requires independence from political pressure.
“Since taking office, he has consistently undermined the independence and abused the power of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.,” Schiff said.
Despite the opposition, Martin has drawn endorsements from leading conservative voices including Elon Musk, Charlie Kirk, and Donald Trump Jr. Republican senators such as Rand Paul and Marsha Blackburn have also expressed support. Paul called Martin “the right person to clean up D.C.” and an opponent of “the left’s lawless judicial tyranny.”
But not all Republicans are on board. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Judiciary Committee, has voiced reservations about Martin’s comments regarding January 6 and said he will meet with him in the coming days before deciding how to vote.
Martin’s controversial actions have extended beyond the courtroom. He has used official letterhead to send requests to academic journals, demanding they explain their editorial decisions.
In another case, he accused Wikipedia of allowing foreign propaganda to distort its pages. Critics have said these moves were meant to intimidate and silence dissent.
His background in politics is well-documented. Years before taking the Justice Department post, Martin was at the center of litigation in Missouri, where he served as chief of staff to then-Governor Matt Blunt.
In that role, he was sued by a state attorney who alleged retaliation after raising concerns about the administration’s handling of public records.
Martin later became president of the Eagle Forum, a conservative organization once led by activist Phyllis Schlafly. He co-authored a book about Trump’s political rise and has regularly referred to himself as one of the president’s personal attorneys.
Still, many question whether he has the qualifications to run one of the nation’s most important U.S. attorney offices.
“Ed Martin has less experience than a misdemeanor assistant does after a week in basic training,” said Kevin Flynn, a longtime prosecutor who worked under a dozen U.S. attorneys in the D.C. office before stepping down in 2023. “That’s not an exaggeration. And he’s not exactly learning on the job, either.”
Martin’s future remains uncertain as the nomination continues to stall. The administration has shown no signs of pulling the nomination, but Republican leadership is under increasing pressure to either push it through or quietly move on.
For now, Martin continues to serve in an acting capacity — controversial, polarizing, and, in the eyes of many, an unprecedented figure to lead one of the most sensitive prosecutorial roles in the country. Whether the Senate confirms him or not, his brief tenure has already become one of the most closely watched and fiercely debated appointments of the Trump administration’s second term.
