The Senate held a key vote for acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Thursday, bringing her one step closer to a permanent appointment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination Thursday in a redo vote that was “triggered by a Democratic walkout last week,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Pirro was approved by the Republican-led committee on a 12‑10 party‑line vote. She and several other Trump appointees were set to advance on July 17, but the vote was ruled invalid when Democrats, protesting a different nominee, broke quorum.
Protesters opposing Pirro’s confirmation disrupted the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, shouting that none of the panel’s members represented Washington, D.C., constituents and that the city’s residents had rejected her nomination, Politico reported without noting that more than 95 percent of Washington, D.C., residents are Democrats.
The Senate follows a “blue slip” policy that allows home-state senators to block U.S. attorney nominees for their jurisdiction. However, because Washington is the nation’s capital, per the Constitution, it does not have U.S. senators or members of the House.