President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will be his next nominee for U.S. attorney general.
“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families.”
He added: “Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!”
The president-elect went on to say that “for too long,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) “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. 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!”
Bondi is a longtime Trump ally, having served as one of his defense attorneys during his first impeachment trial. The Senate later acquitted Trump of charges accusing him of soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election by withholding military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country into investigating Trump’s political opponent, President Joe Biden.
bondi Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks in Washington, D.C., on August 25, 2020. Trump nominated Bondi as his next attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.
A Florida native, Bondi served as the state attorney general for eight years, from 2011 to 2019. She also acted as a surrogate on the 2024 campaign trail and led the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank aligned with Trump.
Bondi has been the subject of past controversy. During the 2016 campaign, a $25,000 check that Trump’s foundation sent to Bondi’s fundraising committee in 2013 came under scrutiny. The donation was made four days after it was reported that Bondi’s office in Florida was mulling an investigation into Trump University. Trump has denied allegations of impropriety, saying the check was not made in response to the potential probe.
The donation was discovered in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential race after Trump’s campaign confirmed that the then-Republican nominee paid a $2,500 fine for the donation after an ethics group complained it was not disclosed to tax officials.
“While there was never an investigation, staff, doing due diligence, reviewed the complaints and the New York litigation and made the proper determination that the New York litigation would provide relief to aggrieved consumers nationwide,” Bondi’s spokesperson said at the time.
Trump nominated Bondi for attorney general after his initial pick, former Florida U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration earlier Thursday. Gaetz was considered Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominee, given that he was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether he engaged in drug use and sex trafficking.
