Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, has vowed to lead a Justice Department free of political influence and mismanagement if confirmed, using her confirmation hearing Wednesday to allay concerns that she could use the position to Go after Trump. called “enemies” or weaponizing the Department of Justice.
For weeks, Bondi has done the same thing behind closed doors: meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan charm offensive designed to prevent any unexpected encounters and ensure an easy path to confirmation.
As of Wednesday, the careful strategy appears to have paid off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida attorney general in light of their previous one-on-one meetings in private.
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Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
“I had a good meeting with her,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vert., told Politico on Wednesday after the hearing.
Speaking before members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the start of her confirmation Wednesday, Bondi highlighted her early dreams of becoming a prosecutor, a dream she said came true almost immediately after starting law school.
“From the moment I interned at the State's Attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor,” Bondi said, noting that he had four jury trials while in law school. “I lost most of them,” he laughed, but still “I never wanted to do anything else.”
“If confirmed,” Bondi continued, his tone turning serious, “I will fight every day to restore the trust and integrity of the Department of Justice and each of its components.”
He also promised to work closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on previous relationships developed with Senate offices in the lead-up to Wednesday's hearing.
Trump's Democratic detractors wasted little time in the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi's confirmation and her ability to lead the Justice Department in the face of a willful and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect; many of them confronted her directly with the names of their potential predecessors who tried and failed to do the same.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., speaks to reporters about the nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be attorney general, outside a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
They questioned his willingness to go after political “enemies” and asked him to give credence to certain comments made by Kash Patel, Trump's FBI nominee.
But Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable throughout the course of Wednesday's hearing, which lasted more than five hours, except for a 30-minute break for lunch.
He highlighted his record fighting violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking as Florida's top prosecutor, and outlined his broader vision for leading the Department of Justice, highlighting his desire to lead a department free of influence. policy.
If confirmed, Bondi's former colleagues told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring to Washington the same playbook she used in Florida, this time with an eye toward cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit use of fentanyl and the cartels responsible for drug smuggling. on the other side of the border.
However, it remains to be seen whether the approach will be successful.
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Pam Bondi shakes hands as her confirmation hearing resumes. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
Sunshine State Endorsements
Those who have worked with Bondi throughout her decades-long career as a prosecutor have described her in a series of interviews and letters presented exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proven to be more of a consensus builder than a burner. of bridges. .
Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in his bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him after winning the race and asked him to be his drug czar, a role he that they would go to work together to crack down on the state's opioid crisis, one of the office's most important and enduring jobs.
In an interview, he credited her with being “most responsible for ridding the state of Florida of destructive pill mills,” citing her push for state legislation and her work to enforce the state's “Drug Diversion and Abuse Roadmap.” prescription drugs” from Florida to coordinate federal policies, state and local efforts to combat the opioid crisis, among other actions.
At the time, the Sunshine State was at the epicenter of the U.S. opioid crisis, with an abundance of “pill mills,” cash-only clinics and a lack of state prescription laws that would allow for the purchase of addictive medications largely without restrictions.
When Bondi took office, opioids were killing about seven people every day, Aronberg said in an interview. There were also “more pain clinics than McDonald's locations” in Florida at the time, he said, illustrating the magnitude of the problem. If confirmed as US attorney general, Bondi has made clear that she plans to continue focusing on the fight against illicit drugs, albeit on a national scale.
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Justice, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing on January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Other parts of his Florida record were also highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and economic relief won by then-Florida Attorney General Bondi on behalf of Sunshine State residents.
After the 2008 financial crisis, his work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation for victims and, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Bondi's lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion economic aid agreement. .
These issues are likely to take center stage in Thursday's hearing — the second day of Bondi's two-day confirmation — and will focus on testimony from others who have worked with her over the years. .
national praise
In the weeks leading up to Bondi's hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former top Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi, praising both her experience in the role and her commitment to the role. rule of law.
The letter from the former Justice Department officials was signed by senior officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations, and by former US attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, who noted: “It is very “Strange that top Justice Department officials, let alone attorneys general, have so much experience in the daily work of keeping our communities safe.”
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The letter also praised what officials described as Bondi's “national reputation” for her work to end human trafficking and prosecute violent crimes in the state.
More recently, Bondi also earned the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included both Democratic and Republican attorneys general, who touted what they described as Bondi's rich prosecutorial experience – including in her role as Florida's top prosecutor – that they said makes her uniquely qualified for the position.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to reconvene Thursday at 10:15 a.m. to hear from a panel of outside witnesses regarding Bondi's qualifications for attorney general.
