WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as Attorney General on Tuesday, putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of an agency that has already been shaken by the firing of career employees deemed disloyal to the president.
The vote remained largely along party lines, with only Democrat John Fetterman joining the Republicans to approve the confirmation with 54 votes in favor and 46 against.
Who is Pam Bondi?
It is planned that Bondi - former Florida attorney general and corporate lobbyist - will lead a radical restructuring in a department that has been the target of Trump's anger for the criminal cases it brought against him.
Bondi will take on the role of attorney general at a time when one of the agencies she will oversee, the FBI, is in turmoil due to scrutiny of agents involved in investigations related to the president, who has made clear his desire to retaliate against those he sees as his adversaries.
"“Pam Bondi has committed to bringing the department back to its core mission: prosecuting crime and protecting Americans from threats to their security and freedoms,” said Senate Majority Leader, Republican John Thune."
But Bondi has faced intense scrutiny due to her close relationship with the president, who during his term fired an FBI director who refused to pledge loyalty to him and forced another Attorney General to step down who recused himself from the agency's investigation into possible links between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.
Although Bondi has tried to assure Democrats that politics would not play a role in her decisions, during her confirmation hearing last month she also refused to rule out possible investigations against Trump's opponents.
Furthermore, he has echoed Trump’s claims that the accusations against him were a political persecution, stating that the Department of Justice “has been used as a weapon for years and years and years, and that has to stop.”