President-elect Donald Trump was quick to announce a replacement nominee for attorney general after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration Thursday. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has now been chosen, pending Senate confirmation, to lead the Justice Department.
Here are five things to know about her.
She was Florida’s first female attorney general
Elected as Florida’s attorney general in 2010, she was the first female to hold the job. A Tampa native, she spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor before Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and onetime vice presidential nominee, endorsed her run for attorney general. Bondi served as Florida’s top prosecutor from 2011 to 2019.
She has been a longtime ally of Donald Trump
After endorsing Trump for the first time in 2016, Bondi has become a regular guest on Fox News, where she has frequently defended the now president-elect. She served on the transition team for the first Trump administration and was chairwoman of the America First Policy Institute — a think tank former Trump administration staffers set up to help him win another term.
She defended Trump during his first impeachment trial
Bondi served on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020, when he was accused but not convicted of abusing his power to pressure Ukrainian investigations into then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Bondi was brought on to help the White House with communications.
She accepted a $25,000 political donation from Trump in 2013
Bondi personally requested a political contribution from Trump in 2013 while her office was considering whether to join a New York lawsuit against Trump University that alleged fraud. Trump wrote a $25,000 check from his family’s charitable foundation to a political committee supporting Bondi — a violation of legal prohibitions against charities supporting partisan political activities. After receiving the check, Bondi’s office opted against joining the lawsuit against the short-lived real estate training program known as Trump University.
She supports tough immigration laws
Bondi called on Florida lawmakers to adopt Arizona’s 2010 “show me your papers” immigration law that allowed police to ask individuals for their immigration documents when they were stopped or detained and required immigrants to carry their immigration documents at all times. As Florida’s attorney general, she urged the state to tighten its laws against human traffickers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.