President-elect Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz drops out
President-elect Donald Trump has named Pam Bondi as attorney general, hours after his first choice Matt Gaetz dropped out following scrutiny over a federal child sex trafficking investigation.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
She’s also been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against Trump.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponised 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 has close ties with others in Trump's circle, including his incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles and his legal counsel Boris Epshteyn.
Bondi practiced law in Florida for over a decade - first as a prosecutor in Tampa and then for eight years as the state attorney general.
After leaving the Florida attorney general’s office, Bondi joined Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with deep ties to Trump and Wiles.
There, she represented the country of Qatar from 2019 to 2020, according to documents submitted to the federal government by the firm under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
She was one of Trump's 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-Vice President Joe Biden.
She was also among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his New York hush money criminal trial, where he was found guilty of all 34 counts.
Bondi was accused by a Massachusetts attorney of bribery over a $25,000 campaign contribution she received from Trump in 2013.
She asked for the donation near the same time that her office was being asked about a New York investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University. In 2017, that complaint was found to have lacked enough evidence to move forward.
In 2013, while serving as Florida attorney general, she publicly apologised for asking that the execution of a man convicted of murder be delayed because it conflicted with a campaign fundraiser.
Gaetz’s withdrawal came came days after an attorney for two women said his clients, one of whom was 17 at the time, told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex multiple times, starting in 2017 when he was a Florida congressman.
He has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.
He would have overseen the same agency, the Justice Department, had he been confirmed as attorney general by the Senate. He also would have controlled the FBI and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).
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