Trump picks Pam Bondi as AG nominee after Matt Gaetz withdraws

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, announced that former Florida State Attorney General Pam Bondi would be his new pick to lead the Justice Department, hours after former nominee Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump, 78, said in a statement on Truth Social. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!” “Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” Trump said in his statement. “Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country.”
Gaetz was announced as Trump’s attorney general-designate Nov. 13, but withdrew earlier Thursday after failing to persuade enough Republican senators to support him. The ex-congressman had been sweating the release of a House ethics report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other transgressions.Gaetz bowed out of the AG confirmation process after several Republican senators publicly expressed reservations and a desire to hear claims from witnesses to a House Committee on Ethics investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct.
Bondi, 59, served as Florida’s first female attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and has been a longtime ally of the 45th president.After Bondi left the Florida AG’s office, she defended Trump as a member of the White House legal team during his first impeachment in 2020, which ended in a party-line Senate vote to acquit the 45th president. Bondi also assisted in voter litigation efforts during that year‘s presidential election and the 2024 election.