Washington After senators concluded the first hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee on Wednesday, Pamela Jo Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, continued on her route to confirmation for the top position at the U.S. Justice Department.
Bondi pledged to restore America’s safety and usher in a new era of justice to the Republican-led Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
However, the career prosecutor was frequently questioned by Democrats about her allegiance to Trump, who has promised to get revenge on his political rivals and clear his followers who attempted to prevent Congress from approving Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Bondi, who assisted Trump during his impeachment trial in 2019, was a Hillsborough County prosecutor for 18 years and Florida’s top law enforcement officer from 2011 to 2019.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the committee, commended the very competent candidate.
Ms. Bondi, if confirmed, will assume leadership at a highly volatile moment for both the nation and the department, which the Iowa Republican claimed was tainted by political decision-making.
Citing Bondi’s efforts in Florida to clear a backlog of rape kit testing and obtain more than $3 billion for the state following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, neither side questioned her suitability to head the Justice Department.
However, Trump did not initially select Bondi to head the Justice Department. Instead, the president-elect personally chose Matt Gaetz, a former congressman from Florida who resigned from the U.S. House just hours after Trump’s selection and was accused of having sex with a juvenile.
The former state prosecutor was questioned by Democrats about how loyal she was to Trump. Bondi supported Trump’s fabricated claims that, following the 2020 presidential election, he had won Pennsylvania.
Bondi, 59, is in a position to run a department that has been under Trump’s scrutiny since he was charged with federal offenses for allegedly mishandling secret materials and plotting to rig the 2020 election. Bondi chairs the legal arm of the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute.
In an effort to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, the department also initiated its largest-ever investigation, chasing over 1,580 individuals who broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, at Trump’s insistence.
A little more than 600 individuals were accused of assaulting, obstructing, or resisting law enforcement. Trump has pledged to pardon the defendants from January 6, whom he frequently called soldiers, hostages, and heroes during his campaign.
Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top member of the committee, began the nearly five-hour grilling by asking Bondi about the 2020 presidential election’s consequences.
As far as I’m aware, Donald Trump has never accepted the 2020 election’s legal outcome. Are you ready to state unequivocally, under oath, today that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election? Durbin inquired.
Bondi replied, “Biden is the president of the United States.” He is now the president of the United States after being duly sworn in. The handover of power was calm. In 2024, President Trump was reelected with a landslide victory.
Durbin answered, “I believe that question merits a yes or no.” Additionally, I believe that the length of your response suggests that you weren’t ready to say “yes.”
Shortly after, Durbin questioned Bondi about the possibility of pardoning Jan. 6 defendants found guilty of attacking police officers.
However, if requested to review such instances, I will do so and offer case-by-case advice, just as I did throughout my prosecutorial career, Bondi replied. “Senator, if confirmed as attorney general of the United States, the pardons, of course, fall under the president.”
Durbin, one of several Democratic senators who brought up the subject of pardons on January 6, charged that Bondi was unable to provide a coherent response to a straightforward query.
Sen. Lindsey Graham reprimanded his fellow senators for assuming that the former Florida prosecutor would offer advice on pardoning the rioters who had been found guilty of serious crimes.
Do you dislike people who beat up police officers? You would review the application and offer (Trump) your best counsel. Bondi was approached by the Republican from South Carolina.
Yes, Bondi said, “I hope no one does.” The president also disapproves of those who mistreat police officers, though I won’t speak for him.
Bondi was also asked by Democratic senators if she would turn down Trump’s request to exact revenge on his political rivals.
Early in December, the president-elect told Kristen Welker on NBC News’ Meet the Press that former top-ranking Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi ought to be imprisoned. The U.S. House select committee that looked into the incident on January 6 was chaired by Thompson and co-chaired by Cheney.
Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont pressed Bondi on Trump’s threats, asking if she had discussed with him the possibility of bringing charges against California Senator Adam Schiff, a current member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who served on the investigative panel on January 6. In 2019, Schiff was also in charge of Trump’s impeachment.
“Definitely not,” Bondi stated.
The president-elect has often stated that Schiff should face legal action, as well as that all members of the January 6 committee should face prosecution for their treachery and deception. No talk about that? Welch checked in.
Senator, no “Said Bondi.”
Welch went on in the back and forth to say that Liz Cheney should also face charges of treason and lying.
“We haven’t talked about Liz Cheney,” Bondi replied.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, questioned whether Trump’s incoming law enforcement officials will target journalists, especially if his controversial choice for FBI director, Kash Patel, is confirmed.
How would you react if the president or the FBI director, whom I hold certain strong opinions about, tried to pressure the government to target the media?
He has obviously made certain assertions, but I haven’t discussed them with Mr. Patel. “Said Bondi.” However, it is obviously immoral to target the media simply because they are the media.
The hearing for Patel has not yet been set.
Bondi’s financial report and signed ethics agreement were not yet accessible to the public on the U.S. Government Office of Ethics database on Wednesday. The documents will be accessible over the next few days, according to a Grassley representative.
The committee is certain that Bondi’s nominee will be sent to the full Senate, according to senators from both parties.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, stated that one does not have to be clairvoyant to see that they will be confirmed.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California agreed: I know how to count, and I know how to read tea leaves. I think you have a very, very, very high chance of being confirmed.
To hear testimony from legal experts regarding Bondi’s qualifications, the panel will meet again on Thursday.
