Trump picks Pam Bondi for US Attorney General after Gaetz withdraws
National News
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By By Sarah N. Lynch and Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be U.S. Attorney General, moving swiftly to replace his former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
Gaetz, who faced opposition from Senate Republicans, was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use. He has denied wrongdoing.
Bondi served as the top law enforcement officer of the country's third most populous state from 2011 to 2019 and on Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first administration.
Most recently, Bondi helped lead the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank whose personnel has worked closely with Trump's campaign to help shape policy for his incoming administration.
Her resume contrasts with that of Gaetz, who has little of the traditional experience expected of an attorney general.
Bondi would likely face less opposition from senators involved in the confirmation process compared with Gaetz.
Trump announced his pick of Bondi on social media, praising her for her prosecutorial experience and saying she was tough on crime as Florida's first female attorney general.
Trump, who was elected on Nov. 5 despite being the subject of multiple criminal investigations from U.S. and state prosecutors, including a felony conviction in the state of New York, said Bondi would end the politicization of federal prosecutions.
"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore," Trump said.
"Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fight Crime, and Making America Safe Again."
Bondi, a Trump loyalist, is expected to carry out Trump's policy agenda.
During the Republican U.S. president-elect's first term, Trump was infuriated by what he called an obstructive Justice Department, including attorneys general Jeff Sessions, who allowed a probe into alleged Russia, and Bill Barr, who publicly refuted his false claims his 2020 election loss was the result of fraud.
The broad contours of Trump's plans for the Justice Department have been communicated through Trump's own public statements, as well as statements by Mark Paoletta, a conservative attorney leading the policy planning for the Justice Department, and in interviews and public forums with former department attorneys.
Federal prosecutors will likely be directed to prioritize illegal immigration cases. Cities that hope to receive a slice of the department's more-than-$291 million justice assistance grant program will likely have to agree to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The Civil Rights Division is expected to shift its focus away from police accountability toward defending religious freedom and filing legal challenges against government and private sector diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Daniel Trotta; editing by Rami Ayyub and Lincoln Feast.)
