Just hours after accepting Matt Gaetz's withdrawal as his Attorney General appointee, President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Florida AG Pam Bondi as Gaetz's replacement.
In addition to her background as a prosecutor, Bondi brings a degree of loyalty to Trump after serving as one of his lawyers in his first impeachment trial. She also has a common thread with many other Trump appointees -- a background in TV news.
Trump, who had pressured senators to confirm Gaetz until information about the House Ethics Committee's investigation began to leak out, took to Truth Social on Thursday night to announce Bondi as his backup plan.
"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore," Trump posted. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again."
Bondi, a longtime Trump supporter, served as Florida's AG from 2011 to 2019 -- the state's first female to hold the position. Like many of Trump's top Cabinet picks, she frequently appears on TV news programs as a pro-MAGA spokesperson.
Gaetz tendered his withdrawal earlier in the day in a phone call to the president-elect. It was his second resignation of sorts in a week after he stepped down from his seat in the House.
The move came after bombshell information about Gaetz's alleged involvement in paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use began coming to light.
