President-elect Donald J. Trump moved quickly to move on from former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who withdrew his name from nomination to be our next attorney general. Mr. Gaetz met with Senate Republicans this week, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, and four senators were just intractable in their opposition to his taking over of the Justice Department. However, he would have been a top man in uprooting the cancerous tumors within the institution. Instead, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who also served as one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys during the impeachment circus during his first presidency.
Unlike Gaetz, Ms. Bondi doesn’t have a ton of baggage. She’s won statewide multiple times, is pro-law and order, an immigration hawk, and loyal to the president. It’s a massive upgrade that was met with relief and approval by those she needs to win over for confirmation. Even CNN’s Elie Honig, who is not a conservative, praised the pick. The former assistant US attorney, who has become more markedly opposed to the lawfare antics of Special Counsel Jack Smith and others, might have irritated his liberal colleagues when he said outright that Ms. Bondi is beyond qualified to be our next attorney general.
CNN Legal Analyst @eliehonig: "Pam Bondi is, without a question, qualified to be Attorney General. She's been a prosecutor for 20 years in Florida. For 8 of those, she was the Attorney General of the state. That's a very big, very complicated job‚ and that level of experience is… pic.twitter.com/fGCCkHrHYO
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 22, 2024
Pam Bondi is, without a question, qualified to be Attorney General. She's been a prosecutor for 20 years in Florida. For right of those, she was the attorney general of the state. That's a very big, very complicated job‚ and that level of experience is on par with, or better than most United States Attorneys General that we've seen over the past 50 years or so.
That shreds any predictable anti-Bondi narratives that might be getting cooked up in America’s newsrooms right now. Gaetz faced legitimate criticism regarding legal experience, whereas Bondi checks that box. Was Gaetz a test balloon to determine who would be a problem for Trump within his party on the Hill? It sure looks that way.
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