US Senate Confirms Pam Bondi, Former Trump Lawyer, as Attorney General

After Matt Gaetz Withdrew as the First Attorney General Nominee
Bondi Also Faces Questions Over Qualifications... Potential for Department of Justice Retaliation

Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida, is taking an oath at the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for the nominee for U.S. Attorney General on the 15th of last month. Bondi was confirmed on the 4th (local time) as Attorney General for the second Trump administration. / AFP·Yonhap Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida who served as a lawyer during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in 2020, has been confirmed as the Attorney General for Trump's second administration.

On the 4th (local time), according to US CNN and UK BBC, Attorney General Bondi passed the federal Senate confirmation vote with 54 votes in favor and 46 against.

In addition to 53 Republican senators, Democrat John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) was the only opposition party member to vote in favor. According to CNN, after the vote, Senator Fetterman told reporters, "She is not an ideal candidate, but she is qualified enough to warrant my support."

Bondi is the second person nominated by President Trump for the position of Attorney General, following Matt Gaetz, a Republican representative from Florida, who resigned after failing to gain support from Republican senators. Gaetz had been embroiled in serious controversies involving allegations of sexual relations with minors, prostitution, and drug use.

Bondi herself has been a controversial figure since her nomination due to questions about her qualifications. This was because President Trump suggested retaliation against the Department of Justice, claiming he was targeted during the Joe Biden administration, raising doubts about whether Bondi, a close ally, would maintain independence. In fact, in 2023, Bondi appeared on Fox News and used the term "Deep State," referring to entrenched federal government interests, stating that "prosecutors within the Department of Justice will be indicted."

During the Senate confirmation hearings, Democratic senators intensely questioned whether Bondi could perform her duties fairly and independently from President Trump's influence. Some senators asked whether she would prosecute former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Trump, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Liz Cheney, a prominent anti-Trump Republican representative. In response to these questions, Bondi avoided answering by saying, "I will not respond based on hypotheticals."

Bondi, who served as Florida's Attorney General until 2019, acted as a lawyer during President Trump's impeachment trial in 2020. Additionally, after the 2020 presidential election, she actively supported Trump's claims that the election results were changed due to fraud. During the confirmation hearings, Bondi refused to answer Democratic senators' questions about whether she acknowledged President Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.