Cecily Strong Makes Surprise Return as Jeanine Pirro to “Lay Down the Law” on ‘SNL’

Saturday Night Live kicked off its cold open with a heartfelt Mother’s Day message that was swiftly interrupted by James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump and — in a surprise return — Cecily Strong‘s Jeanine Pirro.

The former SNL castmember brought back her impression of the prosecutor-turned-Fox News host after the president announced this week that he was naming Pirro as the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

“Jeanine will be the newest addition to my incredible team in my administration,” Johnson’s Trump said. “And what a team, Mr. President. I’m so proud to be part of this group full of Russian assets, booze hounds and people famous for the little baby animals they’ve killed,” Strong’s Pirro added.

Johnson’s Trump then bragged that he “personally picked Jeanine to be the U.S. attorney in Washington D.C.,” to which she joked, “That’s right, the district, or as the locals call it, Chocolate City. So to all you soul sisters and brothers, put the word out on the street, there’s a bad new mama jama laying down the law, getting down in funky town looking fine and sipping wine!”

“Oh, we love Jeanine,” Johnson’s Trump started, “And she has the most important quality I look for in a lawyer — she’s on TV!”

“She’s on The Five, which is a show on Fox, kind of like The View,” he said, which Strong’s Pirro affirmed, “I’m the Whoopi!”

After Johnson’s Trump said she was “very tough,” Strong’s Pirro agreed, saying, “especially on immigration. I don’t have any reservations about sending things back. My friends know I’ve sent back every salad I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant.”

“Wow, I love hiring people from Fox News,” he said, continuing, “They all do an incredible job, just look at Pete Hegseth, not one mistake!” Strong’s Pirro announced that Hegseth was her “old drinking buddy,” to which Colin Jost emerged to portray the fellow former Fox News host and the nation’s defense secretary.

“Surprise,” Jost’s Hegseth exclaimed, which prompted Strong’s Pirro to do a spit-take of wine onto his face. Their characters then joked about the allegations about Hegseth’s drinking at the end of the skit, with Johnson’s Trump asking if he’d been “drinking again.” 

“No, absolutely not, sir. I promised I would never have a bottle touch my lips, but I do have some news to share. Before I do, Jeanine, do you want to take a swig of this?” Jost’s Hegseth asked. “Anyway, I accidentally added Kim Jong Un to the group chat.”

Earlier, Johnson’s Trump discussed the new pope, Robert Prevost (who took the name Leo XIV), who was elected earlier this week. “There’s a new pope from Chicago,” he said. “We have an American pope, Chicago-style, no ketchup. We hope he does what we want, otherwise I’ll have to send J.D. back to do his thing.”

After the cold open, Walton Goggins addressed how “fantastic” it felt to “become a sex symbol at 53 years old” following his run on season 3 of The White Lotus. 

“It did, until I Googled myself and read some of the headlines,” he said before calling out a few articles, with the last being entitled “Hollywood’s Newest Heartthrob Is a Greasy, Depressing Little Man Whom No One Saw Coming.” 

“For some reason, the part of that headline that offends me the most is the word ‘whom,’” Goggins said. “It just sounds pretentious. But you know what isn’t pretentious? My upbringing.”

The Fallout star went on to thank his mother for being “the most important person in my life” while speaking directly to her in the crowd. “Luckily enough for me, my mom is here tonight,” Goggins said. “We’ve come a really long way, haven’t we, mom?” which his mother responded with a resounding “Absolutely.”

“Since it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow, mama, would you like to dance with me?” he asked, and the mother-son duo launched into a heartfelt dance to close his monologue. Goggins made his hosting debut on Saturday night, while Arcade Fire returned for their sixth appearance on the sketchy comedy series.

Goggins and Arcade Fire are two of the final hosts and musical guests for SNL‘s landmark 50th season. Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny will close out season 50 next Saturday as host and musical guest, respectively.