Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro vowed to improve safety and address violence in the nation's capital when she was sworn in Wednesday as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. Referencing her experience as a judge and prosecutor, Pirro said as the top federal prosecutor in D.C. she will tackle claims by President Donald Trump thatthe District is unsafe and dangerous. "Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment, and this city will again become a shining city on the hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again," Pirro, a Trump ally, said in the Oval Office. MORE: Trump appoints Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as top prosecutor in DC Trump said he has confidence in Pirro to improve safety in D.C. "Jeanine Pirro, I have no doubt will be an exceptional U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the truly most important positions in our country of any position, where she will restore public safety in our nation's capital, break up vicious street gangs and criminal networks, and ensure equal justice under the law. You'll see very, very big improvements in the D.C. area, that I can promise you," the president said. Trump signed the"Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful" executive orderin March, which establishes a task force to help improve safety in the nation's capital. The order has been criticized as micromanaging D.C., withDel. Eleanor Holmes Norton sayingit's "insulting to the 700,000 D.C. residents." Earlier this month,Trump tapped Pirro-- who most recently hosted Fox News' "The Five" -- for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin. Martin, who had served as D.C.'s interim top prosecutor,lost GOP support for the job. Martin's past, specifically his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and inflammatory rhetoric around the Capitol attack, plagued his nomination. MORE: 'Still don't believe it's real': Savannah Chrisley reacts to parents being pardoned by Trump Pirro faced her first test as the top federal prosecutor in D.C. last week when she spoke about the response to thedeadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers.She addressed the shooting on Wednesday, saying hatred would not be tolerated under her watch. "Just last week, here in our nation's capital, two people on the brink of beginning their life had hopes and dreams that were never realized because a cold-blooded murderer made a decision to shoot them down on the streets on a cold, rainy night in our nation's capital. This will not go without just accounting," Pirro said. "My voice should be heard loud and clear. No more. No more tolerance of hatred, no more mercy for criminals." Pirro marks the latest Fox News personality to join the ranks of the Trump administration. Some of the most notable Fox News alumni appointed in Trump's second administration include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend," and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who hosted "Unfiltered With Dan Bongino" before he leftthe network in 2023. Pirro has been a longtime ally of Trump, dating back to her time as a prominent prosecutor in New York. She was an early supporter of his 2016 campaign and publicly defended him during the "Access Hollywood" tape scandal. One of Trump's final acts before leaving office in 2021 was issuing alast-minute pardon to Pirro's ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor. With less than an hour before his term ended, Trump granted one final pardon to Albert Pirro, who was convicted more than two decades ago on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion after he was found to have improperly deducted over $1 million in lavish personal expenses in tax write-offs for his businesses. ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin contributed to this report. Jeanine Pirro vows to tackle violence as top prosecutor in DCoriginally appeared onabcnews.go.com
