Trump picks Pam Bondi for attorney general pick

policy

“Pam will refocus DOJ on its goal of fighting crime and making America safe again.”

By the Associated Press

updated on November 21, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, tapping a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration examining allegations of sex trafficking.

Bondi has been an outspoken defender of Trump. She was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power while trying to make U.S. military aid to Ukraine conditional on the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. And she was part of a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his New York criminal trial, which ended in May with a conviction on 34 counts.

“For too long, the Partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – No more,” Trump said in a social media post. “Pam will refocus DOJ on its goal of fighting crime and making America safe again.”

Gaetz stepped aside amid ongoing fallout from a federal sex-trafficking investigation that has cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s federal law enforcement officer. Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations, but his nomination stunned many career Justice Department lawyers. Gaetz, who passed the bar but was barely practicing as a lawyer, had very little experience relevant to the job. Bondi comes with years of legal work under his belt and that other trait that Trump prizes above all else: loyalty.

The hasty withdrawal of Gaetz and the quick move to Bondi were the latest examples of Trump’s tumultuous decision-making as he rushes through his nominations — some of questionable character and credentials — at a breakneck pace without government vetting. which is typical of presidential transitions. It’s an omen that, despite running the most organized campaign for the White House this year, his return to the Oval Office could have the same kind of drama that permeated his first term.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the transition team considered reservations for his controversial nominees in case they are not confirmed.

Still, even in Trump’s world, things have moved quickly. Trump sought to use his landslide election victory to force Senate Republicans to accept challenging picks like Gaetz. The decision could strengthen scrutiny of other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations he denies.

“While the momentum has been strong, it is clear that my confirmation has unfairly become a distraction from the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition,” Gaetz said in a statement a day after meeting with senators in an effort to win them over the support.

“There is no time to waste with an unnecessarily prolonged argument in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from consideration for the position of attorney general. Trump’s DOJ needs to be in place and ready on day 1,” he added.

Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be a distraction to the Administration, for which he has a lot of respect. Matt has a great future and I look forward to watching all the great things he does!”

Bondi is a well-known figure in Trump’s circle and served as president of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded by former Trump administration staffers. She has been a vocal critic of the criminal charges against Trump. In a recent radio appearance, she called out Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors who accused Trump of “horrible” people who she said are trying to make a name for themselves by “lying after Donald Trump and harmonizing our legal system.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted in a social media post that Bondi “will be confirmed quickly,” calling her selection a “grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick “.

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Bondi would instantly become one of the most watched members of Trump’s Cabinet, given the Republican’s threat to pursue retribution against perceived adversaries and Democratic concerns that he will try to bend the Justice Department to his will saddle. A recent Supreme Court opinion not only granted broad immunity to former presidents, but also asserted the president’s exclusive authority over the Justice Department’s investigative functions.

As president, he called for investigations into political opponents like Hillary Clinton and sought to use the Justice Department’s law enforcement powers to further his own interests, including trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Bondi would inherit a Justice Department expected to pivot sharply on civil rights, corporate law enforcement and the prosecution of hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol – defendants Trump he pledged to pardon them.

Bondi is unlikely to be confirmed in time to overlap with Smith, who has brought two federal indictments against Trump that are expected to end before the incoming president takes office. Special advisers are expected to produce reports on their work that are historically made public, but it remains unclear when such a document might be released.

Bondi was charged by a Massachusetts attorney with bribery over a $25,000 campaign contribution she received from Trump in 2013. Bondi requested the donation around the same time her office was asked about a New York investigation into alleged fraud at Trump University. In 2017, that complaint was found to lack sufficient evidence to proceed.

In 2013, while Florida attorney general, she publicly apologized for seeking a stay of execution of a man convicted of murder because it conflicted with a campaign fundraiser. She said she was wrong and I’m sorry she asked for that governor since then. Rick Scott delayed the execution of Marshall Lee Gore by three weeks.

As Gaetz tried to block Senate support this week, concern over the sex-trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating.

In recent days, a lawyer for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions starting in 2017, when Gaetz was a congressman from Florida. One of the women testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old boy at a party in Florida in 2017, according to attorney Joel Leppard.

Gaetz’s political future is uncertain. In a social media post directed at the incoming vice president, Gaetz wrote: “I look forward to continuing the fight to save our country. Just maybe from a different post.”

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.