Washington – On Tuesday, the Republican-led Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as the new United States Attorney General, elevating one of President Donald Trump’s closest political allies to the highest level of American law enforcement.
The 54-46 vote to confirm the former Florida state attorney general will help Trump solidify his control over the US Justice Department, which has recently seen sweeping cuts aimed at prosecutors and FBI agents investigating the president’s supporters’ Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted for Bondi, as did all 53 Republicans.
During her confirmation hearing last month, Bondi, 59, vowed to maintain the department’s independence, telling lawmakers she would not inject politics into criminal or civil investigations.
However, lawmakers remain concerned about whether she will resist potentially improper or illegal orders from Trump, following the dismissals of dozens of prosecutors who pursued criminal charges against him.
After taking office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order condemning the “weaponizing” of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and directing the attorney general to “review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority.”
Bondi, who has spent decades as a prosecutor, represented Trump in his first impeachment trial. She has also repeated some of his false claims regarding voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
According to financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics, the incoming attorney general owns stock in Donald Trump’s media company, the Trump Media and Technology Group.
Bondi was Trump’s second choice for the top U.S. law enforcement position. His first choice, former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, resigned from Congress and withdrew his name from consideration shortly before a House of Representatives ethics report revealed that he had paid women for sex and drugs and obstructed Congress.
Gaetz is currently the only Trump cabinet nominee who has withdrawn from consideration for the position. On Tuesday, Senate committees advanced the nominations of two of Trump’s most contentious nominees: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the nation’s top health official and Tulsi Gabbard to be its top spy.
