Jeanine Pirro has a top-rated Fox News show and a forthcoming book — “Lies, Leakers, and Liberals” — but she still wants to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general.We're told that Trump isn't likely to replace Sessions with Pirro.
A former prosecutor and judge, Pirro has repeatedly told Trump’s aides and advisers over the past 18 months that she’s interested in taking over as the nation’s top law enforcement official, according to four people familiar with the conversations....
Pirro first began talking with transition aides in late 2016 about joining the administration. 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.
Two White House aides said they believe the president is not seriously considering bringing Pirro on to replace current Attorney General Jeff Sessions, despite Trump’s long-standing frustration with him.But another scenario has been floated, although perhaps not seriously:
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.That's what Johnson and Restaccia say. Maggie Haberman has a different -- and more alarming -- take:
Pirro interviewed to be the DAG. Sessions resisted. When he resisted, Trump advisors told him if he didn't give her a hearing, Trump might end up giving her SCOTUS https://t.co/wI8My3hMiY
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 7, 2018
Jeanine Pirro on the Supreme Court? Don't worry, it'll never happen, nor will she be appointed to a lower-court judgeship. We know that the religious right has absolute veto power over Trump's judicial picks, and Pirro is (or at least has been) a supporter of abortion rights. In the run-up to the 2006 election, when Pirro wanted to run for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, The New York Times told us this:
Ms. Pirro's positions on abortion also drew scrutiny, a day after some former allies in the abortion-rights movement accused her of a "flip-flop" for coming out against what critics call partial-birth abortions, except to protect the life of the mother.This was after she failed to secure NARAL's endorsement. A few months earlier, NARAL said this:
Asked by a reporter on Tuesday for her view about when life begins, Ms. Pirro responded simply, "I am pro-choice." When a reporter asked her to be specific, she said: "I am pro-choice. I am a woman who believes in the law as it is written in New York State."
Ms. Pirro also reiterated her opposition to late-term abortions, which she first disclosed on Tuesday; previously, she had told abortion-rights groups that she supported such abortions to protect the health as well as the life of the mother....
“Jeanine Pirro is 100 percent pro-choice and has a tremendous record to run on. Jeanine’s success as Westchester D.A. gives her the experience to be a great Attorney General,” said Kelli Conlin, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, in an e-mailed statement. “However, no one is more effective than Hillary Clinton in pushing an effective plan to improve women’s health by reducing the number of unintended pregnancies. We will do everything possible to re-elect Hillary to the U.S. Senate.”I don't think someone who's ever been called "100 percent pro-choice" could win favor with religious conservatives -- although they seem to like Trump, who used to call himself "very pro-choice.".
Would the religious right allow Trump to appoint a pro-choice attorney general? It's possible, although there might be enough anti-abortion ultras in the Senate to block her confirmation. (This question comes up in reference to Rudy Giuliani, too.) In any case, Pirro's definitely not going to be a federal judge.
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