WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said, "That's up to the senators" about a Republican senator opposing his pick, Ed Martin, for US attorney for Washington DC.

"It’s disappointing because I know Ed, he’s very talented,” the Republican president told reporters in the Oval Office.

His remarks came one day after Sen. Thom Tillis said he would not support Martin's nomination because of his comments related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol.

Trump said crime is down in Washington, DC by 25%, "and people have seen, they’ve noticed a big difference."

"I didn’t know that but if he, if anybody voted against him, I feel very badly about it, only in the sense that in this short period of time that he’s been there, crime is down 25% in Washington DC," said Trump.

"But that’s really up to the senators, if they feel that way. They have to vote the way they vote. They have to follow their heart and they have to follow their mind," he added.

Tillis is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Republicans have a 12-10 majority.

If all other members, aside from Tillis, voted along party lines, Martin would be stuck in committee on an 11-11 deadlock.

Democrats on the committee filed a complaint in March against Martin. In a letter to the DC Bar disciplinary counsel, the senators said Martin "has abused his position in several ways, including dismissing charges against his own client and using the threat of prosecution to intimidate government employees and chill the speech of private citizens."

Martin’s position as acting US attorney for the DC expires May 20.