On the same day that former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general, Trump announced that he will pick former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to fill that role in his administration.
Bondi, 59, has remained in Trump’s inner circle for years and has continued to advise him on legal matters. She was one of the lawyers who defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi takes the stage to speak at a campaign rally with Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump in Gastonia, North Carolina, Nov. 2, 2024.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
“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!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Bondi’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. She did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement.
For more than a decade, Bondi has been a key Trump supporter and has been involved in some controversies, including the “big lie,” pushed by Trump in 2020.
In this July 7, 2021, file photo, Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General, speaks next to former President Donald Trump at Trump golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters, FILE
In 2013, the Trump Foundation sent a $25,000 donation to Bondi’s fundraising committee for her attorney general reelection campaign. Around the same time, Bondi’s office had been considering reviewing a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general’s office that probed Trump and Trump University, but it ultimately did not join the suit.
Bondi and Trump both denied allegations that the donation led to her decision to not join the lawsuit. She endorsed Trump for his presidential run and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention leading a “lock her up chant” against then-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. She also served as a co-chair of Trump’s 2020 reelection bid and spoke at that year’s Republican National Convention.
Bondi was elected Florida attorney general in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She left the AG’s office in 2019 because she was limited to two terms. A year later, she was selected for Trump’s defense team for his first impeachment trial. He was acquitted in the Senate.
In this Nov. 5, 2020, file photo, Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, speaks during a news conference in front of the Convention Center, where votes are being counted, during the 2020 Presidential election in Philadelphia.
Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
Bondi continued to be part of Trump’s legal team during the 2020 election and repeatedly made false claims about voter fraud when he lost to Joe Biden.
Recently, she has been a member of the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute, which was formed by former Trump administrationofficials. She serves as AFPI’s chair for the Center for Litigation, and co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice, according to the think tank’s website.
Bondi and AFPI attorneys were involved in preemptive election lawsuits in battleground states during this year’s election.
Trump has named some of his other personal attorneys to senior roles in the Department of Justice including Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer.