AG nominee Pam Bondi seen as steadying force to steer DOJ in Trump's second term
Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, has vowed to head up a Justice Department free from political influence and mismanagement if confirmed – using her confirmation hearing Wednesday to assuage concerns that she might use the role to go after Trump's so-called "enemies" or otherwise weaponize the Department of Justice.
For weeks, Bondi has done the same behind closed doors – meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan charm offensive designed to head off any unexpected encounters and ensure an easy path to confirmation.
As of Wednesday, the careful strategy seems to have paid off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida AG in light of their earlier in light of their earlier one-on-one meetings in private.
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"I had a good meeting with her," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told Politico Wednesday following the hearing.
Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the start of her confirmation Wednesday, Bondi highlighted her early dreams of becoming a prosecutor – a dream she said was realized almost immediately after beginning law school.
"From the moment I interned at the State Attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor," Bondi said, noting that she had four jury trials while in law school. "I lost most of them," she laughed, but still "never wanted to do anything else."
"If confirmed," Bondi continued, her tone turned serious, "I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components."
She also vowed to collaborate closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on earlier relationships developed with Senate offices in the run-up to Wednesday's hearing.
Trump’s Democratic detractors wasted little time in the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi’s confirmation and her ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect; many of them confronted her directly with the names of her would-be predecessors who tried and failed to do the same.
They questioned her willingness to go after political "enemies" and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump's FBI nominee.
But Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of Wednesday's hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break.
She highlighted her record on fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, and human trafficking as Florida's top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.
If confirmed, Bondi's former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.
Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen.
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Sunshine State endorsements
Those who have worked with Bondi in her decades-long prosecutorial career have described her in both a series of interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner.
Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar – a role where they would go on to work in tandem to crack down on the state's opioid crisis – some of the office's most important and lasting work.
He credited her in an interview as the "most responsible for ridding the state of Florida of destructive pill mills," citing her push for statewide legislation, and her work in enforcing Florida's "Statewide Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Road Map" to coordinate federal, state and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis, among other actions.
At the time, the Sunshine State was at the epicenter of the U.S. opioid crisis, with an abundance of "pill mills," cash-only clinics, and lack of statewide prescribing laws that allowed for the purchase of addictive medications largely without restrictions.
When Bondi took office, opioids were killing around seven people each day, Aronberg said in an interview. There were also "more pain clinics than McDonald's locations" in Florida at the time, he said, illustrating the magnitude of the problem. If confirmed as U.S. attorney general, Bondi has made clear she plans to remain focused on cracking down on illicit drugs – albeit on a national scale.
Other parts of her record in Florida were also highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and economic relief secured by then-Florida attorney general Bondi on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State.
After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi's lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief.
These issues are likely to take center stage in Thursday's hearing – the second day of Bondi's two-day confirmation – which will focus on testimony of others who have worked with her over the years.
National praise
In the weeks ahead of Bondi's hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former top Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi, praising both her experience for the role and commitment to the rule of law.
The letter from the former Justice Department officials was signed by top officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations, and by former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, who noted: "It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials – much less Attorneys General – to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe."
The letter also praised what the officials described as Bondi's "national reputation" for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.
More recently, Bondi also earned the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included both Democrats and Republican attorneys general, who touted what they described as Bondi’s wealth of prosecutorial experience – including in her role as Florida's top prosecutor – that they said makes her especially qualified for the role.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to reconvene Thursday at 10:15 a.m. to hear from a panel of outside witnesses relating to Bondi's qualifications for attorney general.