Will Judge Jeanine Pirro Replace Jeff Sessions As Attorney General?

Former prosecutor and Judge, Jeanine Pirro has “repeatedly told Trump’s aides and advisers over the last 18 months that she’s interested in taking over as the nation’s top law enforcement official,” according to Politico, citing four people familiar with the conversations.

Pirro first began talking with transition aides in late 2016 about joining the administration, according to Politico. Though she expressed interest in the attorney general job, when it became clear that job was going with Sessions, she began pushing for deputy attorney general, according to two Trump administration officials.

Since then, the nexus between the White House and Fox News has grown ever closer, as has Trump’s relationship with Pirro. The two speak by phone frequently and Trump, according to one person close to him, watches almost every episode of her Saturday evening show, “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” sometimes calling in. –Politico

Apparently, Trump is open to the idea – as Pirro, 67, has been a vocal supporter of his agenda – chastising allies for insufficient loyalty, while hammering the president’s critics. 

Trump has dangled the possibility of giving her a top appointment. During a November meeting in the Oval Office, the president raised the possibility of nominating Pirro to a federal judgeship, according to a former administration official, though this person added that Trump was more likely engaging in flattery than seriously considering putting Pirro on the bench. –Politico

Two White House aides say Trump wasn’t serious about the possibility, despite the President’s long-standing frustration with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. That said, Trump did bring CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow on board as his top economic advisor. Pirro has denied ever speaking about the AG job with administration officials, according to The Hill.

Transition team officials also discussed the possibility of Pirro becoming the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York – which Trump reportedly favored but was ultimately dissuaded from offering. 

Pirro was elected Westchester County District Attorney in 1993, before challenging briefly challenging Hillary Clinton for New York’s Senate seat in 2006. She ran later that year for NY Attorney General, losing to Andrew Cuomo. 

President Trump has been on Pirro’s Fox News show twice since taking office, and gave the Judge a rare interview for her upcoming book “Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy.”