On Wednesday, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will begin two days of confirmation hearings, marking the start of senators’ public discussions over President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to head the Justice Department.
As the first woman to hold the position, Bondi served as Florida’s top law enforcement official for eight years, focusing on topics such as preventing drug abuse, fighting human trafficking, and opposing the Obama administration’s centerpiece health care plan.
Having been a member of Trump’s opioid and drug misuse task force and later joined the defense team during his first Senate impeachment trial, she has also been a longtime ally of the president. Additionally, Bondi made a false claim that Trump “won Pennsylvania” in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Bondi went on to serve as a lobbyist and on legal matters for a pro-Trump policy group.
Now, assuming the Senate confirms her, Trump has chosen her to hold one of the most prominent positions in the incoming administration.
After his first choice, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., withdrew from consideration after his candidacy was threatened by claims of sexual misconduct, including having sex with a juvenile (which Gaetz has denied), Bondi became Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department. Republicans have praised Bondi’s rise after weeks of turmoil surrounding Gaetz’s nomination, and there are no signs that she will have any trouble winning over GOP senators.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois has claimed in recent days that the Senate Judiciary Committee has not received a complete accounting of her work with foreign clients, setting the stage for Democrats to focus on her tenure at a well-known lobbying company.
Her remarks regarding the 2020 presidential election are also anticipated to be questioned by Democratic senators. This comes just days after Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith published a report defending his investigation of Trump, which resulted in Trump being accused of attempting to rig the election. (Those charges were dropped following Trump’s election because it is Justice Department policy to not bring charges against a sitting president.)
Furthermore, they will probably cast doubt on Bondi’s objectivity as the potential head of the Justice Department. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s first attorney general, publicly criticized Sessions for withdrawing from the probe into claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Furthermore, it is unclear if the Justice Department will act on Trump’s campaign rhetoric, in which he and his supporters have threatened that political rivals may or should be charged with crimes.
Trump tweeted that the “partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans” when he revealed Bondi as his choice for attorney general. No more. Pam will bring the DOJ back to its original mission of combating crime and restoring America’s safety.
Trump stated last month in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would let Bondi decide whether to look into individuals like Smith and that “I’m not going to instruct her” on the matter.