Donald Trump said he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his attorney general, hours after his first pick for the role, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration for the position.
In selecting Bondi, Trump again chose a staunch loyalist who is seen as an overtly political operator.
And in 2013, while Bondi was serving as Florida attorney general, Trump donated $25,000 to a political action committee supporting her reelection.
The attorney general post is perhaps the most important Cabinet position in Trump’s second term.
She would be the first Republican woman to serve as attorney general if confirmed.
Not long after appointing former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his attorney general, Donald Trump announced that he would name the former Rep. Matt Gaetz decided not to run for the job.
Trump once more selected Bondi, a fervent supporter who is perceived as an overt political operator. She accompanied Trump on the trail in the closing days of the 2024 campaign and defended him during his initial impeachment in 2019. The America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump organization that has been compared to a Trump administration in waiting, has her as co-chair of its law and justice division.
Additionally, Trump contributed $25,000 to a political action committee that supported Bondi’s reelection in 2013, when she was the attorney general of Florida. Because Bondi’s representative had informed a newspaper just days prior to the donation that Bondi’s office was examining a class action lawsuit that New York had filed against Trump University for fraud, the timing was later questioned.
The most crucial Cabinet position during Trump’s second term may be that of attorney general. He is expected to rely on Bondi to assist him in using the Justice Department against his political rivals, as he was occasionally irritated by the two men who held the position during his first term.
Additionally, if confirmed, Bondi will be expected to assist in closing the two federal cases against Trump unless special counsel Jack Smith closes them before Trump takes office. Bondi will also be tasked with defending some of Trump’s most contentious policies, especially those related to immigration.
In a social media post announcing the appointment, Trump claimed that the partisan Department of Justice had been used as a weapon against him and other Republicans for far too long. Not any more. Pam will put the DOJ’s mission back into focus, which is to combat crime and make America safe once more. “.”.
Gaetz, whose initial appointment to the post was clouded by the possibility of an impending House Ethics investigation into him, applauded Trump’s choice. In an X post, he stated, “She will bring the needed reforms to DOJ.”.
Bondi is likely to be at least somewhat less controversial than Gaetz, who had few qualifications for the position and whose main interaction with the Justice Department occurred when it looked into whether he was involved in child sex trafficking. However, Bondi may prove to be another divisive choice. He was never charged and refuted the accusations. Sen. Graham Lindsey (R-S. A. Bondi “will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed quickly,” according to a close ally of the president-elect. “”.
An individual close to both Trump and Bondi who was given anonymity to discuss the selection’s reasoning said that Trump picked Bondi because he thought she would be easily confirmed and because she had shown her loyalty to him throughout their lengthy relationship.
“He wants to be able to call his Cabinet and deal with them in the same way that a business owner would want to be able to do with an advisory board,” the source stated.
The pick was attacked by liberal NGOs. The liberal government watchdog Public Citizen’s co-president, Robert Weissman, issued a statement saying, “Not being Matt Gaetz does not qualify you to be attorney general of the United States.”. At the expense of the Department’s independence and integrity, we should anticipate that Attorney General Bondi will act as an attack dog and Trump supporter. Bondi, like many others who competed for positions during a second Trump administration, went to Trump’s criminal trial in New York and used television to protest the proceedings, especially the gag order the trial’s judge imposed on Trump.
From 2011 to 2019, Bondi, now 59, was Florida’s attorney general. Part of the same wave of the tea party that brought the then-Governor to power, she was initially elected to the post. Rick Scott will take over. In a case against guards accused of killing Martin Lee Anderson, a teenager in a juvenile boot camp, she served as the lead prosecutor. She had previously worked for the top prosecutor in the Tampa area.
By discontinuing the practice of having the attorney general represent consumers in disputes with utilities, Bondi significantly changed the role. Rather, Bondi concentrated on human trafficking and criminal investigations. Early in her career, she faced criticism after dismissing two staff members who were in charge of looking into mortgage fraud from her office.
Bondi started the lawsuit against opioid manufacturers in Florida, which was ultimately resolved after she left office. In response to disclosures in Pennsylvania, she also initiated an investigation into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the state.
When it was revealed in 2016 that Bondi had asked a political action committee to donate $25,000 that Trump had given through one of his charities in 2013 to a campaign to help her win reelection, she came under fire. The contribution was made while Bondi’s office was considering how to respond to the Trump University complaints. Bondi’s office withdrew from the class action lawsuit spearheaded by New York and never looked into the matter. Bondi admitted that she had personally asked Trump for the donation, which rekindled the controversy even though it had already been reported at the time.
In a court filing from her office, Bondi also defended Florida’s prohibition on same-sex marriage, telling a federal court that recognizing marriages in other states would “impose significant public harm” and violate Florida’s current law. “.”.
Ralph Reed, a Trump ally and the head of the conservative-leaning Faith and Freedom group, was among the social conservatives who defended the decision Thursday night.
Trump praised and confided in Pam, saying she is a woman of great integrity, a seasoned and competent prosecutor, and a thorough professional. She possesses the special ability to reinstate the rule of law and remove the curtain from Lady Justice and the Department of Justice. “.”.
Because of term limits, Bondi left office to work for lobbyist Brian Ballard, who has close ties to Trump. She took a brief leave of absence from that position to assist in Trump’s defense against the 2019 impeachment accusations made against him.
If confirmed, she would be the first female Republican attorney general.
This report was written by Kimberly Leonard and Meridith McGraw.
