Who is Pam Bondi? Donald Trump taps former Florida AG to become top U.S. law officer

WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his choice for U.S. attorney general following Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal of his nomination.

Trump announced late Thursday that he would nominate Bondi to become the nation’s top law-enforcement officer, citing her work as a prosecutor.

“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 said in a statement. “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.”

Bondi is likely to have an easier time winning Senate confirmation than Gaetz, who faced opposition from some Senate Republicans.

Bondi, 59, is a Trump ally who served as one of his defense attorneys during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused of abusing his power by withholding military aid from Ukraine to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into a political rival, then-former Vice President Joe Biden. The Senate acquitted Trump of the charges.

Bondi also served on Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first term and acted as a campaign surrogate during this year's presidential contest. She was among a group of Republicans who attended Trump's hush-money trial in New York earlier this year to show their support for him.

Bondi was Florida's attorney general for eight years, from 2011 to 2019. She was the first woman elected to the position.

The Justice Department has more than 100,000 workers covering a broad range of interests. The department prosecutes federal criminal laws through U.S attorneys offices and through its main headquarters, and brings civil lawsuits to enforce civil rights and antitrust laws. The department oversees agencies such as the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons.

"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore," Trump said in his statement. "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!"

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Bondi is Trump's second choice for attorney general and the second Floridian has has tapped for the job.

Earlier Thursday, Gaetz, a former Florida congressman, withdrew his nomination amid continuing allegations of sexual misconduct.

The DOJ – which Gaetz would have led if he became attorney general – investigated allegations that he committed statutory rape by paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl and for her to travel with him across state lines. That probe was dropped without charges.

But the House Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, was also investigating those and other allegations and had planned to vote on whether to release a report on their findings just two days after Gaetz abruptly resigned his House seat last week.

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A lawyer for two witnesses said his clients testified before the Ethics Committee about the allegations. One said she saw Gaetz allegedly under the influence of drugs and sexually abusing the 17-year-old, though she said she did not think Gaetz knew the girl's age.

Gaetz has denied the allegations. But he said he decided to withdraw his nomination because it had become a distraction for Trump's transition team.

Contributing: Riley Beggin

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on X @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Pam Bondi? Donald Trump taps new attorney general nominee