Pam Bondi is one step closer to becoming the next attorney general after her nomination cleared a procedural hurdle Monday.
Senators voted 52-46 along party lines to approve a motion to invoke cloture on her nomination.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and an ardent Donald Trump supporter, has received vocal support from Senate Republicans through her confirmation process.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, pointed to her background in Florida where she “fought against pill mills, eliminated the backlog of rape test kits and stood for law and order.”
“There’s no doubt that Ms. Bondi’s highly qualified,” Grassley said. “She’s capable of doing the job well and she represents mainstream views shared by at least the 77 million Americans who voted for change in the 2024 election.”
Her expected confirmation would come despite deep concerns from Democrats over whether she would be able to run a Justice Department free of political interference from the White House.
Democrats have also raised questions about her work as a lobbyist and questions about if she would have the fortitude to push back against Trump, if required.
“I fear Ms. Bondi will only protect and remain faithful to one person throughout this whole experience, and that’s the president who’s given her this opportunity,” Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Monday on the floor.
It appears that she is prepared to break with a bipartisan tradition of a nonpartisan department, “one that upholds the rule of law and is free of undue political influence from the White House,” Durbin said. “I’m not convinced that she’s dedicated to these ideals.”
Republicans quickly rallied around Bondi after former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s bid for the position imploded amid sexual misconduct allegations and the specter of a then-unreleased ethics report.
With Bondi, Senate Republicans received a nominee with a more conventional resume for the role.
At her confirmation hearing, Bondi deflected questions that could have pitted her against Trump’s past statements, such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which former President Joe Biden won.
Bondi told senators she would fight to “restore confidence and integrity” to the Justice Department and pledged to uphold the rule of law without regard to the partisan position of a criminal defendant.
But Bondi, in at least one exchange, declined to rule out prosecuting Trump’s perceived enemies. Under questioning from Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, Bondi sidestepped when asked whether former Special Counsel Jack Smith would be prosecuted if she’s confirmed as attorney general.
“How about Liz Cheney? How about Merrick Garland?” Hirono asked.
“I am not going to answer hypotheticals. No one has been prejudged — nor will anyone be prejudged,” Bondi said.
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