(NewsNation) — After Matt Gaetz withdrew from nomination as Donald Trump’s attorney general, the president-elect named Pam Bondi as his next pick.
“I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!“ Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.
Bondi, who used to serve as Florida’s Attorney General, wasn’t initially on anybody’s short-list for the national position. However, Trump’s announcement Thursday got a positive reaction from senators, such as Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who called Bondi a “grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick” on X.
Pam Bondi’s background
Bondi was a prosecutor for nearly two decades in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office before becoming Florida’s first female attorney general in 2010.
She served as Florida’s Attorney General for eight years. She campaigned for the state’s top legal office by challenging then-President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and calling for her state to adopt Arizona’s controversial “show me your papers” immigration law.
As Attorney General in Florida from 2011-2019, Bondi was vocal on human trafficking issues and urged tightening state laws against traffickers.
After that, she worked as a lobbyist for Ballard Partners. Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles was a partner at the Florida-based firm.
While working at Ballard Partners, Bondi lobbied for a Kuwaiti firm, the Associated Press reported, citing Justice Department foreign agent filings and congressional lobbying documents. Bondi registered as a foreign agent for the government of Qatar because of her work related to anti-human-trafficking efforts leading up to the 2022 World Cup.
In addition, Bondi represented the KGL Investment Company KSCC, a Kuwaiti firm also known as KGLI. She lobbied the White House, National Security Council, State Department and Congress on immigration policy, human rights and economic sanctions issues, the AP wrote.
Trump and Bondi’s relationship
Sources tell NewsNation that Bondi is very trusted by Trump and that she spends a lot of time at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago.
Bondi was a senior adviser on Trump’s first impeachment defense team when he was accused in 2020 of abuse of power for allegedly pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rivals. Trump was ultimately not convicted.
This year Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up in New York to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial.
People close to the president-elect tell us that Bondi is somebody very trusted by Trump. She spends a lot of time at Mar a Lago. She was a senior adviser on Trump’s first impeachment defense team, and this year, she was also among a group of Republicans who showed up in New York to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial.
“I’m a prosecutor, former prosecutor, yet all the rights here go to the defendant, because it’s his liberty at stake, and that has not been happening in this courtroom, this case should have never, ever been brought,” Bondi said at the time.
Shortly after the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump, Bondi appeared on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” to discuss it.
Her hope for the trial, Bondi said, is that the alleged attempt “is going to be prosecuted wisely and smartly by the feds.”
“I can’t imagine anyone in this country who wouldn’t want this monster locked up forever,” she said, referring to suspect Ryan Wesley Routh.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.