Senate Confirms Pam Bondi as Attorney General Amid Controversy

The Senate voted 54-46 on Wednesday to confirm Pam Bondi as the next attorney general, placing her in charge of a Justice Department already mired in controversy. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) broke ranks with Democrats to join all Republicans in backing Bondi.

Bondi, a two-term attorney general of Florida, has been praised for her prosecutorial experience and her role in combating the opioid epidemic. However, her ties to former President Donald Trump, particularly her involvement in his 2020 election challenge and her sharp criticism of investigations into him, have drawn Democratic scrutiny.

She previously called for “prosecutors to be prosecuted” over cases against Trump, raising concerns about whether she will maintain the Justice Department’s independence.

During her confirmation hearing, Bondi sought to assure senators that she would act fairly.

“If confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice—each of its components. Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end,” Bondi declared.

Despite this pledge, Senate Democrats remained skeptical.

“President Trump has said time and again that he expects the Justice Department to seek ‘retribution’ on his behalf. With Ms. Bondi, I’m afraid, the president has finally found someone who passes his loyalty test,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, in a floor speech Monday.

Bondi refused to answer numerous questions from lawmakers, dismissing them as hypothetical. She sidestepped inquiries about whether she would appoint a special counsel if Trump faced allegations of illegal conduct and did not say whether she would investigate former special counsel Jack Smith.

Additionally, she declined to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election.

Instead, she stated, “President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”

Her remarks reinforced concerns among Democrats that she would allow Trump’s influence to shape the Justice Department’s decisions.

Republicans, however, defended her qualifications.

In a Tuesday floor speech, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) criticized Democrats for their opposition.

“If my colleagues will not cross the aisle to vote for this qualified nominee, they’ll show that Senate Democrats are intent on opposing President Trump’s Cabinet picks for purely partisan reasons,” Grassley said.

Bondi’s confirmation comes as major upheaval grips the Justice Department. Several career officials have been reassigned or dismissed, including a dozen prosecutors who worked on special counsel Smith’s team.

FBI agents involved in Trump’s criminal cases were escorted from headquarters last week, and prosecutors handling more than 1,500 cases related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot were removed from the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former criminal defense attorney for Trump, has requested that the FBI disclose details regarding the involvement of thousands of agents in those prosecutions.

Durbin sent Bondi a letter Tuesday demanding information on whether she had prior knowledge of these personnel changes. He also asked for her communications with Trump’s transition team and the current Justice Department leadership.

Her confirmation sets the stage for another contentious nomination battle, as the Senate considers Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel. Bondi has already faced questions about how she would address potential abuses of power by Patel if he is confirmed.

“If he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed—he will follow the law if I am the attorney general of the United States of America. And I don’t believe he would do anything otherwise,” she said.

With Bondi now at the helm, the Justice Department is poised for a dramatic shift, and her actions in the coming months will be closely watched.