Interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin’s nomination to serve as DC’s top prosecutor is in serious jeopardy after Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis suggested he will vote against the attorney’s confirmation.
Tillis said Tuesday that he told the White House he is currently opposed to Martin’s nomination, citing disagreements with the interim DC attorney over the January 6th prosecutions while conceding that some J6 defendants were over-prosecuted. President Donald Trump on Monday evening urged Senate Republicans to confirm Martin, but Tillis’ opposition could potentially deal a fatal blow to the attorney’s prospects.
“I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination,” Tillis told reporters Tuesday following his meeting with Martin the previous evening. “Where we probably have a difference is that I think anybody that breached the [Capitol] perimeter [on January 6th] should have been in prison for some period of time — whether it’s 30 days or three years is debatable, but I have no tolerance for anybody that entered the building on January 6th and that’s probably where most of the friction was.”
Tillis sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is the panel responsible for processing Martin’s nomination. With Tillis expected to vote against Martin at the committee level, the interim DC attorney would likely fail to advance to the Senate floor with a deadlocked 11-11 vote.
Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, another key vote on the judiciary panel, announced his support for Martin on Tuesday.
“When he comes up for a vote, I intend to support him,” Cornyn, who is facing a competitive primary challenge, told reporters. “I tend to defer to the president on his choices.”
“He’s [the president is] entitled to some deference on his choices,” the Texas senator added. “What happens after this is out of my hands.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to notice a vote on Martin’s nomination.
Three Republican senators who have broken with the president on key nominations and his authority to impose tariffs, Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, could also pose problems for Martin.
Trump called on the Senate to confirm Martin in a Truth Social post Monday evening, citing the interim DC attorney’s commitment to the president’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“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,” Trump wrote. “The Cost of the Chronic Disease Epidemic has gotten out of control over the past four years of the Biden Presidency. We are going to take our Country BACK, and FAST. 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.
Tillis is up for reelection in 2026 and could face a tough general election fight. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as “Lean Republican.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee is expected to spend heavily to defend Tillis’ seat. Former Democratic North Carolina Rep. Wiley Nickel in April launched a bid to unseat the senator.
The North Carolina Republican has supported all of the president’s nominees thus far, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Martin served as the chairman of the Missouri Republican Party from 2013 to 2015.
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