Pardon attorney Ed Martin is leaving the administration to focus on election-related cases, President Trump announced Friday.
“Ed is now leaving to go outside to fight Legal Battles for the upcoming Midterm Election, and the Presidential Election of 2028,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. “I know he will do an outstanding job, ensure Free, Fair, and Honest Elections, and strongly advance our Constitutional Rights.”
Mr. Martin posted in response, “Proud to serve. Fight Fight Fight.”
Shortly afterward, he made it clear that his focus is on the midterms, writing, “74 days to go,” in reference to Election Day.
Mr. Martin, a conservative lawyer who once chaired the Missouri Republican Party, served as the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and was nominated by Mr. Trump to fill the role permanently.
However, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, objected to the nomination, taking issue with Mr. Martin’s defense of the U.S. Capitol protesters on Jan. 6, 2021.
As a result, Mr. Trump withdrew his nomination in May 2025. Then Mr. Martin served as a pardon attorney in the Justice Department, adopting the mantra “No MAGA left behind.”
During his tenure, prominent figures such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-New York Rep. George Santos received presidential pardons.
Mr. Martin also headed the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group to look over cases of potential prosecutorial abuse by the department.
Other prominent administration officials, such as former White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, have also left to focus on elections.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave the White House at the end of August, but Mr. Trump said she will be one of his top outside advisers ahead of the midterms.
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