Trump taps Pam Bondi for attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration

Pam Bondi, Trump’s attorney general pick, previously served as attorney general of Florida. 

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday he would nominate Pam Bondi, former attorney general of Florida, for US attorney general after his first pick withdrew from consideration.

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social announcing the nomination. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”

Trump chose Bondi, a longtime Trump ally who served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019, after former congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for the role earlier on Thursday.

Bondi also represented Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020, when he was accused of trying to coerce Ukraine into investigating the Biden family.

Representatives for Trump and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Busiess Insider.

Gaetz was nominated for attorney general on November 13 and submitted his resignation from Congress the same day. But his appointment faced an uphill battle over lingering concerns about sex-trafficking investigations involving the former congressman.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz in 2021 but ultimately declined to press charges against the lawmaker. The House Ethics Committee also launched a probe into the allegations in 2021. On Wednesday, the committee met to determine whether it would release a report on its investigation but deadlocked.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.