It seems Jeanine Pirro, former prosecutor and judge and now top-rated Fox News host, is ready to leave her day job and has her sights set on being President Donald Trump's Attorney General.
"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," Politico reported.
Apparently Trump has been somewhat complicit in her ambitions. Politico describes him as "dangling" the job, and even raising the possibility of her appointment during a meeting in the Oval Office in Nov., a former administration official says, while adding that it was likely not genuine.
This unlikelihood was shared by Pirro's Fox News colleagues. Politico reports that one Fox employee says her network colleagues "have laughed at her frequent mentions of the possibility of getting senior-level government work."
And even with Trump's very vocal frustrations with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House aides said the president is not seriously considering Pirro to replace Sessions.
Despite the odds, what Pirro seems to be banking on is her long-standing relationship with the president. They've been friends for decades and Pirro has demonstrated her willingness to stand by Trump no matter what — Access Hollywood tape and all. This blind loyalty is a quality Trump favors over nearly anything else, often choosing friends and allies for cabinet and administration positions over people with actual experience.
"People who know the president say he is drawn to those who reinforce his worldview and feed his ego," according to Politico. "From the outset of the administration, she [Pirro] has used her TV platform to hammer the president’s critics and to ding his allies, including Sessions, as insufficiently loyal. She recently described the attorney general as the biggest threat to the Trump agenda, calling him 'the most dangerous man in America.'"
Reportedly, Pirro has been vying for a top government position since late 2016. During the transition, when Sessions was tapped, she then pushed for deputy attorney general. Transition aides tell Politico she was also discussed for the U.S. attorney position for the Eastern District of New York, but senior aides dissuaded Trump from nominating Pirro.
But since then, their relationship has only grown closer. Sources tell Politico Trump and Pirro speak often by phone and that he watches her Saturday evening show, "Justice with Judge Jeanine," religiously. Also, for Pirro's forthcoming book, "Lies, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy," she recently interviewed the president and his chief of staff John Kelly. Pirro was also in attendance at the American Embassy's relocation to Jerusalem last month per the White House's invitation.
"The cooperation with Pirro further illustrates the inordinate power of the conservative-leaning Fox cable channels on the Trump presidency," the Washington Post reported. "In the White House communications shop, officials rotate going on Pirro’s show because they know Trump will be watching — and partially to prevent him from calling in himself, several officials said, as he did earlier this year."
A top administration official told the Post: "Someone has to be on the show every week," because clearly Trump will be watching.
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