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By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
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President Donald Trump's decision to tap Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia continues to showcase the tight relationship he has maintained with the network throughout both of his administrations.
Newsweek has reached out to Fox News Media by email outside of normal business hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump's elevation of Pirro, a staunch ally, to D.C.'s top prosecutorial role would come after the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that Ed Martin—currently serving as D.C.'s interim U.S. attorney—will not be considered for the permanent role.
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Trump's decision to pull Martin's nomination came after Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said this week that he would not support Martin, effectively tanking his nomination because it meant he likely wouldn't secure enough votes to advance before the full Senate.
What To Know
Pirro is the 23rd current or former Fox News employee Trump has recruited for his administration since taking office earlier this year. However, his relationship with the network runs far deeper and longer than just this year nominees.
During his first administration, Trump regularly called Fox News hosts live on air to have impromptu, off-the-cuff interviews. He also allegedly would consult any number of hosts off the air, including Fox News powerhouse Sean Hannity.
Trump, however, decided to elevate that special relationship in his second administration by appointing hosts, many of whom have only ever had glowing praise for Trump during their broadcasts, to key Cabinet positions and high-profile roles. Comedian and TV host Bill Maher quipped on Friday night during Real Time with Bill Maher that "I've heard of state-run TV; this is TV run state."
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Fox News Personalities in the Trump Administration
The highest profile picks have been Pete Hegseth, one of the hosts of Fox & Friends Weekend, who took over the Pentagon as secretary of defense, and Dan Bongino, who left Fox in 2023 to focus on his podcast and now serves as the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Sean Duffy, the current secretary of transportation, had co-hosted FOX Business program The Bottom Line before Trump tapped him to join the administration, and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, also a former co-host of Hegseth's, continues to host Fox & Friends Weekend.
One lesser-known connection is current Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, whom Fox hired as a contributor in 2022 as she grew increasingly critical of the Biden administration and its support of Ukraine. She frequently appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight until Carlson left Fox in 2023.
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Michael Waltz, Trump's new United Nations ambassador and former national security adviser who departed his role following a high-profile scandal in which a journalist was included in a high security chat group on the app Signal, had briefly worked as a paid Fox contributor in the year prior to winning election to the House of Representatives in 2017.
Another Fox News contributor, retired three-star U.S. General Keith Kellog, now serves as the special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and current ambassador to Israel, had hosted a weekly Fox program for six years ending in 2015.
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Other appointees include:
- Michael Bastasch, a writer at Fox between 2019 and 2022, now serves as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) senior adviser for communications
- Tammy Bruce, who appeared across Fox News programs including her own Get Tammy Bruce on Fox Nation and was a paid contributor, now serves as the State Department spokesperson
- Sara Carter, who also was a Fox News contributor frequently appearing on Hannity's program, now serves as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Kimberly Guilfoyle, the current ambassador to Greece, was a founding member of popular Fox show The Five. She also worked as a campaign aide to the first Trump administration and was engaged to Donald Trump Jr. until 2024
- Tom Homan, the "border czar," joined Fox as a contributor in 2018 and remained as such until Trump named him to the critical immigration role
- Morgan Ortagus, deputy special envoy for Middle East peace, worked as a Fox contributor and appeared across all the major programs, including Fox & Friends, Outnumbered, and The Five
- Leo Terrell, who joined Fox in 2021, frequently spoke out on sensitive social issues across Fox's many programs, and now serves as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights
Additionally, Trump appointed FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo and Fox News host Laura Ingraham to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and Fox News host Mark Levin serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
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