WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump named Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General, as the United States Attorney General on Thursday, just hours after his other option, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from the list of candidates.
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Bondi is a long-time ally of Trump and was one of his attorneys during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused —but not convicted— of abusing his power by attempting to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in exchange for that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.
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Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump in his criminal trial in New York for hush money, which ended in May with a guilty plea on 34 felony charges. She has served as the chair of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank established by former members of the Trump administration.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been used against me and other Republicans. That ends now,” declared Trump in a social media post. “Pam will refocus the department on its original purpose of fighting crime and making America safe again.”
Donald Trump Jr., the son of Trump, told Fox Business on Sunday that the transition team had alternatives in mind for their controversial nominees in case they failed to be confirmed. The swift selection of Bondi occurred about six hours after Gaetz withdrew.
That announcement capped a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to leverage his decisive electoral victory to force Republican senators to accept controversial selections such as that of Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being selected last week to lead it. The decision could increase scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including the Pentagon candidate, Pete Hegseth, who faces accusations of sexual assault that he denies.
"Although the impulse was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unjustly becoming a distraction for the crucial work of the Trump/Vance Transition," Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who met with senators a day earlier in an attempt to gain their support, said in a statement.
"There is no time to waste in an unnecessarily prolonged dispute in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from the list of those considered to serve as Attorney General. The Trump Department of Justice must be established and ready from day one," he added. Hours later, Gaetz posted on social media that he hopes to "continue the fight to save our country," and added, "Maybe from a different position."
In a social media post, Trump said: "Aprecio mucho los recientes empeños de Matt Gaetz con el fin de buscar la aprobación para ser secretario de Justicia. Lo estaba haciendo muy bien pero, al mismo tiempo, no quería ser una distracción para el gobierno, por el cual tiene mucho respeto. ¡Matt tiene un futuro maravilloso, y espero ver todas las grandes cosas que hará!".
Last week, Trump appointed personal attorneys Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, and D. John Sauer to high positions in the department. On Wednesday, it was announced that Matt Whitaker, another potential contender for Attorney General, will be the United States ambassador to NATO.
Bondi has also been loyal to Trump for a long time. She has openly criticized the criminal cases against Trump, as well as Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who indicted Trump in two federal cases. In a radio appearance, Bondi criticized Smith and other prosecutors who have charged Trump, calling them "horrible" people who, she said, were trying to make a name for themselves by “attacking Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.”
If the Republican-led Senate confirms her, Bondi would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump's cabinet, given the Republican's desire to retaliate against those he considers his adversaries, and the concern among Democrats that she will seek to bend the Department of Justice to his will. A recent Supreme Court opinion not only granted broad immunity to former presidents but also reaffirmed the exclusive authority of a sitting president over the investigative functions of the Department of Justice.
Bondi would inherit a Department of Justice that is expected to change drastically regarding civil rights, enforcing companies to comply with the law, and the trials of hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot in the United States, whom Trump has promised to pardon.
It is unlikely that Bondi will be confirmed in time to coincide with Smith, who presented two federal indictments against Trump expected to conclude before the incoming president takes office. Special prosecutors are expected to draft reports on their work that historically are made available to the public, but it remains unclear when such a document could be released.
In 2013, while serving as Florida's attorney general, Bondi publicly apologized for requesting a delay in the execution of a man convicted of murder because it coincided with a campaign fundraising event.
Bondi said she was wrong and regretted having asked then-Governor Rick Scott to postpone the execution of Marshall Lee Gore for three weeks.
Before running for state attorney general in 2010, Bondi worked for the state attorney's office in Hillsborough County.
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The journalists from The Associated Press Zeke Miller, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, and Adriana Gómez Licón contributed to this report.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.