WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he had nominated the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, Ed Martin, a far-right election denier who sat on a board that raised cash for the Capitol rioters and pushed for their mass reprieve, to run the office on a permanent basis.

Martin, who has minimal prosecutorial experience but a hyperpartisan social media presence, must first be confirmed by the Senate, whose members were forced into hiding by the mob of Trump loyalists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Martin’s nomination marks a complete reversal for an office that formed the core of one of the Justice Department’s most complex investigations, swapping leaders committed to holding rioters accountable for a man who stood in the crowd outside the Capitol and defied a congressional subpoena to describe his role in the day’s events.

As interim U.S. attorney, Martin oversaw the dismissals of hundreds of Jan. 6 cases after Trump pardoned defendants, commuted sentences or vowed to throw them out.

He could also play a starring role in Trump’s accelerating effort to seek retribution on those involved in his two federal indictments and the prosecution of his supporters. Martin has already started an internal review of Capitol riot cases in his office — directing employees to hand over files, emails and other documents — and was tapped by Attorney General Pam Bondi to help scrutinize the so-called weaponization of the department during the Biden term.

Trump wrote on his social media site that Martin had been “fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and Make Our Nation’s Capitol Safe and Beautiful Again.”

“He will get the job done,” Trump added.

Until Trump’s announcement Monday, it had not been clear whether Martin, 54, would be selected to permanently lead the office. While many congressional Republicans have publicly cheered him on, some senators and their aides have privately questioned whether he has the temperament and skills to do the job.

Morale in the U.S. attorney’s office has dropped since Martin arrived, according to current and former prosecutors, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

Martin has described long work days spent burrowed in his office.

“Tons to learn. Tons to do. Tons and tons at stake,” he wrote on Substack shortly after being named to the interim post. His office, he added, was filled with photos of his family, a large image of “the merciful Christ” and a picture of anti-feminist activist Phyllis Schlafly. Nearby are a copy of his book and the Bible.

He has struggled to win the respect of the hundreds of members of his staff. Some have described introductory meetings where he made clear that he saw his job as acting on behalf of Trump. Others referred to him as a “keyboard warrior,” noting that he fires off serial emails, including one reprimanding prosecutors under him for leaking to the news media — a communication that itself leaked.

And while Trump claimed he would address crime in the district, Martin has initially said little about what he plans to do to accomplish that goal.

Instead he has taken to social media to spout overtly political opinions as no other U.S. attorney has done, suggesting he would investigate opponents of Elon Musk as well as former special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for his role in hoarding classified documents at his resort in Florida.

Martin served as chief of staff to Matthew Roy Blunt, Missouri’s governor from 2005 to 2009. He later ran conservative organizations, including Missourians United for Life and the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund, once affiliated with Schlafly.

For two decades, Martin ran his own law practice.

Associated Press contributed.