Bondi encountered opposition from Democrats concerned about her ability to remain independent from Trump.
The Senate voted on Feb. 4 to confirm former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice.
The 54-46 vote came a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance her nomination. Prior to the full chamber’s vote, the committee held contentious hearings with Bondi and Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI.
Both Patel and Bondi, a former adviser to Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, fielded questions about whether they would be able to maintain a level of independence from the White House.
Trump has also chosen his attorneys to serve in key positions under Bondi in the DOJ.
In November 2024, he selected Todd Blanche to serve as deputy attorney general, D. John Sauer as solicitor general, and Emil Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general.
In announcing Bondi’s nomination, then-President-elect Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social: “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans—Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”
Bondi also received attention for comments she made on Fox News in 2023, when she said: “When Republicans take back the White House … the Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted—the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated.”
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) asked Bondi whether that would include Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, or former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who led the House Jan. 6 Committee.
“No one has been prejudged, nor will anyone be prejudged if I am confirmed,” Bondi responded.
Trump has also tapped Harmeet Dhillon, one of his former campaign advisers, to lead the department’s civil rights division and Gail Slater to head the antitrust division. The Senate has not voted on their confirmations.
Bondi will be entering a DOJ that is already defending the administration from numerous lawsuits and facing scrutiny over its responses to the Biden administration’s investigations.
By Sam Dorman
