How one of Trump’s safest Cabinet choices turned out to be one of his most contentious supporters.
Pam Bondi was derided by Democrats four years ago as a danger to democracy. The longtime personal attorney of President-elect Donald Trump, who is poised to become the next attorney general, is now receiving softer treatment from several Senate Democrats.
With even some Senate Democrats now supporting a lawyer who formerly assisted Donald Trump in his attempt to rig the 2020 election, Pam Bondi is projected to have a straightforward Senate confirmation as attorney general.
It is anticipated that her journey to lead the Department of Justice will go smoothly as she begins two days of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. This is mostly because other nominees are facing more severe accusations, and the attorney general candidate who came before her—former Florida GOP Representative Matt Gaetz—was extremely divisive and had to resign.
Additionally, Bondi has launched an apparently successful charm offensive with Senate Democrats, some of whom are already seeking common ground on issues such as antitrust legislation and criminal justice reform.
Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, remarked, “I had a good meeting with her.” “She was really responsive and direct. She has a great deal of experience.
Given that the incoming president has promised to get revenge on his political rivals and fired attorneys general during his first term in office for deferring to his orders, Democrats are particularly concerned about having a Trump loyalist lead the Justice Department. Bondi, who defended Trump in his first impeachment hearing and helped overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Pennsylvania, is one such loyalist.
However, Democrats have largely determined that Bondi had the necessary qualifications to be the country’s top law enforcement official, tasked with upholding Trump’s regulatory agenda and providing legal defense for his executive orders. Democrats agree that Bondi is not worth the combined effort to discredit in a knockdown, drawn-out battle because they lack the votes in a Senate controlled by Republicans to unilaterally reject any Trump candidate.
According to a senior Democratic Senate official who asked not to be named in order to discuss private party strategy, Democrats on the panel are anticipated to mostly use their platforms to attack Trump rather than Bondi’s experience, which includes being Florida’s attorney general.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware stated, “There is no doubt that she has the relevant experience managing one of our nation’s largest state departments of justice.” She has been elected attorney general twice. She oversaw a sizable attorney general office throughout the state.
Coons compared Bondi’s record to that of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Defense, a former National Guard officer and television personality plagued by accusations of sexual assault and drunken debauchery. Coons stated that he was willing to vote to confirm her.
As Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019, Bondi battled to uphold the state’s prohibition on homosexual marriage and repeal the Affordable Care Act. After that, she left government to work as a business lobbyist for the K Street behemoth Ballard Partners. She also co-chaired the America First Policy Institute’s Center for Law and Justice, a think group that has been drafting and promoting policies for a second Trump administration.
Dick Durbin, a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from Illinois, stated on the Senate floor Monday that “the obvious concern with Ms. Bondi is, whether she will … oversee an independent Department of Justice that upholds the rule of law.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters during the confirmation hearings that he was seeking “an ironclad air-tight commitment to be the people’s lawyer, to put first and foremost the interests of the American people over loyalty or fealty to Donald Trump.” Democrats repeatedly stated that they do not intend to let Bondi off the hook in this regard.
But Blumenthal also stated in a previous statement that he valued the opportunity to have a private conversation with Bondi about collaborating on issues like “protecting kids online and curtailing Big Tech’s power.”
Coons made special reference to working together on criminal justice measures.
Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the explanation was clear when asked why Democrats might be more forgiving of Bondi in light of her backing of Trump’s allegations of a rigged 2020 election.
In an interview, he referred to “[Trump’s] overwhelming mandate in the election.” “The public wants change, and if they want it, they will want the president’s preferred personnel to implement his agenda.”
