Washington, United States – In a move that sparked widespread controversy in political and legal circles, the US Senate approved the appointment of judge and former television presenter Jeanine Pirro to the position of Attorney General of the District of Columbia, one of the most prominent judicial positions in the United States.
The approval came by a vote of 50 to 45, after former President Donald Trump urged the Republican-dominated Senate to speed up voting procedures over the weekend.
Trump appointed Perot, 74, to the position on an interim basis last May, joining a long list of television personalities he has included in his administration. Trump has previously described her as “a woman like no other”.
Lebanese origin
Jenin was born to Lebanese parents who immigrated to New York in their youth. She was famous for presenting the program “Judge Janine Pirro” between 2008 and 2011, then the program “Justice with Judge Janine” on the “Fox News” channel for 11 years, and she also participated in presenting the program “The Five” on the same channel, before devoting herself to her temporary judicial position.
Peru joins other media figures who previously held government positions under Trump, such as Defense Secretary Pete Higseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, both from a television media background.
But Perot’s appointment did not go unopposed, as Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, strongly criticized the decision, describing it as “superficial” and stressing that Perot “should not be a permanent attorney general of the United States.”
Durbin noted that Perot promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, which Trump lost, and wrote books in support of him, including “Liarists, Leakers, and Liberals,” which the Washington Post described as “sycophantic.”
Her ex-husband, Albert Perrault, was previously convicted of tax evasion while serving as New York’s attorney general, but Trump pardoned him during his first term.
The appointment comes as part of a series of rapid moves to confirm Trump’s nominees to judicial positions, as his former lawyer, Emile Bove, was appointed a judge in the Federal Court of Appeals last week.
