Ed Martin is not a typical pick for a U.S. attorney.

President Trump’s choice to lead the federal office in D.C. has never been a prosecutor – making him the first person without that background to lead the office in over 50 years.

Already in the role on an interim basis, he's sparked attention with his fiery X presence and a tenure that has already resulted in clashes with lawmakers and his own staff.

“He's always just been a ball of fire. I've always known him to be tireless, hugely enthusiastic...and he's a cause oriented guy. He's mission driven,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who knows Martin through Missouri political circles.

“He's never been an establishment guy – ever. He's always been a disrupter, wherever he is.”

In just a few short weeks on the job, Martin has brought a fair amount of upheaval.

He’s sent letters to two lawmakers accusing them of threatening political figures. He’s pointed to his new role in claiming to be one of the president's attorneys – flouting Justice Department credo to serve as the people’s lawyers.

He sparked alarm with public letters to Elon Musk threatening to use his prosecutorial platform to go after those who “even acted simply unethically.”

And he’s also overseen the firings and reassignments of prosecutors that worked on Jan. 6 cases. A veteran prosecutor leading the office’s criminal division resigned rather than carry out an order from Martin she felt was not backed by sufficient evidence. He also recently penned a letter to Georgetown University demanding they stop all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, threatening that he would otherwise stop hiring graduates from the school.

Martin’s now facing a trio of ethics complaints from different lawmakers, the latest sent this week by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) asking for an investigation by DOJ’s inspector general, saying that “in seven short weeks, the list of Mr. Martin’s constitutionally, legally and ethically indefensible actions have grown exponentially.”

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have asked the D.C. bar to review Martin’s conduct.

“Just about everything he's doing unquestionably violates the spirit and ethos of the Department of Justice, and in many cases I think violates the rules and procedures. He is overtly using the power of his office for purely political reasons,” said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who asked the Justice Department inspector general for an investigation into Martin’s continued representation of a Jan. 6 defendant as a U.S. Attorney.

© The Hill