Bondi, who Trump said will ’refocus the DOJ,’ was named for the role just hours after Gaetz withdrew from contention.
President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 21 announced former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his nominee for U.S. attorney general, moving swiftly to replace former nominee Matt Gaetz who withdrew from contention earlier in the day.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
Bondi also served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019. The president-elect said that as the state’s first female attorney general, Bondi “worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of fentanyl overdose deaths, which have destroyed many families across our country.”
Bondi, at Trump’s request, served on his administration’s opioid and drug abuse commission.
“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting crime, and making America safe again,” Trump wrote.
“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!”
In 2019, Bondi joined Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in the Senate, at the end of which he was acquitted.
As a prosecutor, Bondi tried cases ranging from domestic violence to capital murder. During her tenure as Florida’s top lawyer, she advanced reforms targeting corruption with opioid prescriptions.
Bondi is a well-known figure in Trump’s circle. She’s been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against Trump. In one radio appearance, she said Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors were trying to make names for themselves by “going after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.”
She has served as a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.
In response to the announcement, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) described Bondi as “a brilliant attorney with a long career of fighting for the Constitution.”
He added on social media platform X that he is looking forward to the Senate “QUICKLY confirming her to be our next Attorney General.”
By Jack Phillips and Sam Dorman
