Not even 12 hours have passed since Matt Gaetz gave up his nomination for attorney general, and Donald Trump has already named his new replacement: former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. The 59-year-old lawyer was part of Trump’s defense team during his first indictmentin which he was accused of pressuring Ukraine to conduct a corruption investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Trump is once again choosing a loyal figure to fill one of the most important positions in the Justice Department.
“For too long, the partisan Justice Department has been used against me and other Republicans. It’s over. Pam will redirect the DOJ back to its original goal: fighting crime and making America safe again. “I have known Pam for many years – she is smart and strong, and she is a fighter for AMERICA FIRST who will do a magnificent job as Attorney General,” Trump wrote early Friday on his Truth Social profile.
Bondi, unlike Gaetz, also presents a much more favorable profile in the eyes of Republican senators, which also worked in his favor during his choice as attorney general. Gaetz, concerned by the Congressional Ethics Committee’s investigation into having sex with a minor, resigned on Thursday due to the prospect of not gaining enough support for the Senate to certify his nomination. Even Trump admitted in private conversations that he didn’t think he could get the minimum number of votes.
Unlike Gaetz, the former Florida attorney general is at least not under investigation for child abuse and has not earned the enmity of some Republican members of Congress. Compared to his predecessor, despite Bondi’s Trumpist profile, Republican senators will have no problem voting in his favor.
When the Senate certifies her nomination, Bondi will be rewarded for a long career of loyalty to Trump that began with the first election campaign in 2016, when she became an outspoken and fierce defender of the mogul. During the 2020 election, Bondi also joined the denialist rhetoric, claiming that Joe Biden’s victory was a fraud and this year she was one of many Republicans to take to the Manhattan courthouse doors to show her support to Trump for the trial of the Stormy Daniels affair. A process which resulted in a guilty verdict for the 34 serious crimes with which he was accused, but which could now be frozen until the end of the mandate.
Bondi isn’t the only former Trump lawyer to find himself in his new firm. Last week, the president-elect chose former U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general and Emil Bove as senior associate attorney general. Both defended Trump during his trials, notably in the Stormy Daniels affair.
It will now be up to Bondi to dismiss the two federal prosecutions against Trump, that of the Mar-a-Lago classified logs and that of the assault on the Capitol, and to dismiss special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is leading both charges. The outlook for Smith remains just as negative with Bondi as attorney general as it was when Gaetz was the nominee. The lawyer was part of the group of lawyers who drafted a document amicus curiae in the case of classified Mar-a-Lago documents supporting Trump and claiming Smith was unconstitutionally appointed special counsel.
Thanks to this document, the Mar-a-Lago trial was further delayed, contributing to the tycoon’s defense strategy of delaying trials until after the election.
When she was Florida’s attorney general, she had a reputation for being tough on crime and is expected to help Trump carry out his political agenda. The Justice Department and federal prosecutors are expected to play a major role in Trump’s deportation plan and will be asked to prioritize illegal immigrant cases.
During the first Trump administration, Bondi also served on the Commission on Opioids and Drug Abuse. Recently, he collaborated with the legal apparatus of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank whose staff worked closely with the Trump campaign to help shape policies for his next administration.
