On Thursday, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Gaetz’s eight days as nominee were plagued by a series of investigations into an alleged sexual relationship with a teenager as well as a looming report by the House Ethics Committee, whose revelations were believed to be particularly damning.
But within hours, the president-elect had announced a replacement: former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. “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 TruthSocial Thursday.
While Bondi’s lengthier legal experience and lack of questions about aberrant personal behavior might clear the way for her confirmation, she would still enter the role as a staunch Trump loyalist who represented him during his first impeachment trial and promoted his 2020 false election-fraud claims. Here’s what we know about Trump’s latest Cabinet pick.
She opted against joining a Trump University lawsuit after receiving a donation
In 2010, Bondi was elected as Florida’s attorney general, becoming the first woman to hold that position in the state. She held the role until 2019. One flashpoint during her tenure came in 2016, when it emerged that Bondi had requested a donation to her campaign from Trump around the same time that her office considered joining a pending lawsuit against Trump University, a for-profit education program that was accused of fraudulent practices.
The Associated Press reports that the $25,000 donation came from the Donald J. Trump Foundation and was transferred to Bondi’s reelection committee, “And Justice for All,” in 2013. Marc Reichelderfer, a consultant who worked with the Bondi campaign, told the AP that Bondi spoke with Trump “several weeks” before the attorney general’s office indicated an interest in the Trump University case. After the donation was received, the state decided against pursuing an investigation into the matter.
“While there was never an investigation, staff, doing due diligence, reviewed the complaints and the New York litigation and made the proper determination that the New York litigation would provide relief to aggrieved consumers nationwide,” Bondi spokesman Whitney Ray told CNN.
The Washington Post reported that Trump paid a $2,500 fine to the IRS after the donation from his foundation was deemed to be improper, over rules that nonprofit organizations are barred from making contributions to political candidates.
Bondi was a strong opponent of the ACA
During her time as state attorney general, Bondi took a strong stance against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Her office took part in a multi-state lawsuit to overturn the legislation, a matter that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bondi took also direct aim at then-President Obama for his health-care law during the 2012 Republican National Convention in a joint speech with Georgia’s attorney general at the time, Sam Olens. “He talks about giving us more control over health-care decisions, but instead grants that power to government bureaucrats,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
She backed Trump’s 2020 election-fraud efforts
As Trump sought to challenge the 2020 presidential-election results in key battleground states, Bondi played a significant role. The Tampa Bay Times reported that the Florida attorney general joined Rudy Giuliani and others at a post–Election Day press conference in Philadelphia, claiming victory for Trump while the votes were still being counted. “We’ve won Pennsylvania, and we want every vote to be counted in a fair way,” she said, per the Times. Joe Biden would go on to win Pennsylvania.
Around that time, Bondi did an appearance on Fox & Friends, where she raised the prospect of fake ballots without providing any evidence for her claims. “For every vote that came in late, that was postmarked late … that discounts every legal vote that came in,” Bondi said, per the Times. “That means the good residents who are all supporting us in Pennsylvania, their votes don’t count by these fake ballots that are coming in late … They’re not letting us watch the process.”
She once was a registered foreign agent while lobbying for Qatar
After leaving the attorney general’s office, Bondi joined Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm established by a top fundraiser of Trump. The New York Times reports that Bondi had lobbied for several prominent clients, including Uber, Amazon, General Motors, as well as a Qatari government. For the latter, Bondi was required to register as a foreign agent for the government of Qatar.
Bondi was part of Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment
Bondi was one of several lawyers tapped to defend Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020 when the then-president faced charges of abuse of power and obstruction on Congress in connection to his interactions with Ukrainian officials. Bondi briefly paused her work as a lobbyist to join Trump’s legal team.
Bondi requested an execution be moved so she could attend her fundraiser
Bondi received criticism in 2014 for asking then-Governor Rick Scott to change the planned date for an execution in order for her to attend her own reelection fundraiser. She later apologized for the request. “The planned execution of Marshall Lee Gore had already been stayed twice by the courts, and we absolutely should not have requested that the date of the execution be moved,” she said at the time, per the Tampa Bay Times.
