Donald Trump, the president Elect of the United States of America announced on Thursday that he was nominating Pam Bondi a former Florida attorney General as the next US Attorney General. Bondi will be taking the position that was vacated by the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz. Gaetz, a former congressman, resigned from his position after the House Ethics Committee exposed him to embezzlement investigations, which he has denied.
Pam Bondi, 59, was the Attorney General of Florida from 2011 to 2019; she was also a part of the legal team representing Trump during the first impeachment trial. She also worked for the America First Policy Institute as a policy planner for Trump’s future presidency. Also, in contrast to Gaetz, Bondi has traditional legal background skills, which elicited positive responses for her.
Bondi & Trump’s Connections
Trump presented Bondi as the ‘tough-on-crime’ prosecutor with significant potential of desensitizing the Department of Justice from politics. ‘For too long, the DOJ has been used against me and other Republicans.’ That ends now,” he stated.
Bondi’s connection with Trump began in 2013 when the Trump Foundation donated to her campaign, which was a matter of concern. Some of the critics even claimed that her office had a conflict of interest because they decided not to prosecute Trump University. Trump University and the Trump Foundation were later involved in legal cases and; Trump had to pay money for them.
Shifting DOJ Priorities
Bondi’s leadership will also signal a change of guard within the DOJ which is expected to target immigration and diversity initiatives. The Civil Rights Division could shift towards protecting religious freedoms as opposed to police conduct. Preliminary issues concerning Trump and former attorneys general Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr indicate that Trump favors coordination with DOJ leaders.
Bondi’s nomination is consistent with Trump’s decision-making pattern of rewarding loyalty and choosing qualified individuals as he runs his campaign for the second term. How her leadership may alter the Justice Department’s direction will be apparent through the Senate confirmation process.
