President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate former Florida AG Pam Bondi to be US Attorney General after first pick, Matt Gaetz, withdrew.
Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused – but not convicted – of abusing his power as he tried to condition US military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then former vice president Joe Biden.
Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush-money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. She’s been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a thinktank set up by former Trump administration staffers.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore,” Trump said in a social media post. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”
Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr told Fox Business on Sunday that the transition team had backups in mind for his controversial nominees should they fail to be confirmed. The swift selection of Bondi came about six hours after Gaetz withdrew.
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