Wait, That's Why Tillis Is Nuking One of Trump's Nominees?

Matt Vespa | May 06, 2025 11:45 AM

No one wants to be the person who could nuke a Trump nomination. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has earned that (dis)honor, going public with his decision to vote against Ed Martin, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The reason is that Martin voiced support for the January 6 political prisoners (via CNBC):

A key Republican senator on Tuesday said he would not support the controversial nomination of Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, dealing a potentially fatal blow to Martin’s chances of winning Senate confirmation.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, “I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination.”
Tillis cited Martin’s support for criminal defendants in Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot cases.
[…]
Tillis’ decision is likely to doom Martin’s hope of his nomination even being reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Tillis is a member.

Hearing Thom Tillis is a hard NO on Ed Martin.

We really need to primary these squish republicans. Unreal.
— Swig 🇺🇸 (@OldRowSwig) May 6, 2025

This isn’t Tillis’ first time being the face of GOP betrayal. He seemed to be the person who could torpedo Pete Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of defense and came very close to being that guy. He even worked behind the scenes to scuttle Hegseth’s push until his grand scheme was exposed. Tillis’ decision means that notorious anti-Trump Judge James Boasberg could now be tapped to fill the vacancy (via Breitbart):

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is withholding support for President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney for D.C., a move that could result in MAGA villain Judge James Boasberg choosing who would fill the role — potentially even former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump, who announced in December 2024 that Ed Martin would serve as Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget, installed Martin as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on January 20, 2025, later formally nominating him to take over long-term.
[…]
The powerful U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. has two roles, which make it one of the most powerful perches in the American legal system — a seat from which much of the lawfare directed at Trump and his supporters originated during the Biden presidency.
Due to D.C.’s special status, the office serves in a role similar to a local district attorney. After taking over, Martin wasted no time turning the office’s resources towards prosecuting violent crime after a period of lawlessness under President Joe Biden, which saw crime soar.