Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has made his position crystal clear: loyalty to the entrenched, weaponized Department of Justice matters more to him than standing behind President Trump’s effort to clean house. On Tuesday, Tillis announced his opposition to Ed Martin’s nomination for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia—not because of a lack of qualifications, but because Martin dared to question the excessive, politically motivated prosecutions stemming from January 6.
Martin, a staunch constitutionalist and longtime Trump ally, was nominated to lead one of the most powerful prosecutorial offices in the country—a jurisdiction that has, for years, been the staging ground for lawfare against conservatives. From pro-life activists to concerned parents and January 6 protestors, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office became a tool of political punishment under Biden. Trump tapped Martin to reverse that trend. Tillis? He’d rather protect the status quo.
Tillis justified his opposition to Martin by pointing to the nominee’s criticism of DOJ overreach. In his own words: “Where we probably have a difference is I think that anybody who breached the perimeter should have been imprisoned for some period of time… whether it’s 30 days or three years is debatable.” In other words, jail time for taking a selfie on Capitol grounds is not only acceptable, it’s mandatory in Tillis’ eyes—even when video evidence has shown Capitol Police waving some protestors inside.
🚨BREAKING🚨 GOP Senator Thom Tillis says he OPPOSES the nomination of Ed Martin for DC US Attorney.
“At this point I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination.” pic.twitter.com/PqJOiJc4PO
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 6, 2025
What’s more telling is that Tillis openly admitted Martin “had a point” about the misuse of statutes in the prosecution of January 6 defendants, yet still opposes him. That’s not a principled stance—that’s a political litmus test. Martin’s supposed disqualification isn’t about ethics or competence. It’s about the fact that he didn’t cheer on the DOJ’s scorched-earth campaign against political dissent.
Perhaps most infuriating is Tillis’ feeble attempt to distance his actions from political bias by suggesting he’d “probably support” Martin’s nomination—if it were for any other jurisdiction. That’s a nonsensical distinction. Either Martin is fit to be a U.S. Attorney or he isn’t.
What Tillis is really saying is that Martin is too independent, too unwilling to rubber-stamp the DOJ’s crusade in D.C., where the political stakes are highest. And for that, Tillis would rather keep the swamp’s judicial apparatus intact—even if it means potentially handing the reins back to anti-Trump figures like Judge James Boasberg or even Jack Smith.
This is hardly the first time Tillis has played the role of saboteur in Trump’s orbit. He reportedly undermined Pete Hegseth’s push for Defense Secretary and helped derail other nominations behind closed doors.
And let’s not forget: Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, the very architect of Biden’s two-tiered justice system. Now, by blocking Martin, he continues to side with a DOJ that treats conservative protestors as enemies of the state while ignoring real threats to public safety.
