Bondi Defends Trump Chicago Moves in Tense Senate Hearing (1)

US Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed with Democratic senators on Tuesday during a politically charged oversight hearing in which lawmakers frequently traded partisan barbs over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Bondi and Republican members on the Senate Judiciary Committee defended the Trump administration’s efforts in Chicago and other Democratic-led cities. She echoed claims from the president that drug cartels and crime are running rampant in Illinois and that federal authorities were needed to crack down — something that top state and local officials strongly dispute.

“They’re not enforcing the law,” Bondi said of officials in Illinois, who sued on Monday to block Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. “We’re going to keep our entire country safe.”

“We don’t care if you live in Chicago. We don’t care if you live in Florida,” she added. “President Trump wants everyone to be safe.”

Illinois this week joined other states in challenging the president’s authority to deploy troops to protect federal immigration agents and quell public protests. An Oregon judge has issued an emergency order blocking troop deployment to the state. In September, a California judge ruled Trump violated federal law by sending troops to Los Angeles.

During the hearing, Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told Bondi that Trump “has illegally deployed troops to Chicago and other American cities.” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has said the deployments are part of the president’s plan to target his political enemies and punish Democratic states.

“I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump,” Bondi responded to Durbin. “If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”

Read More: How Trump’s Use of Troops at Home Tests His Powers

Bondi, who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time since her confirmation hearing, was pressed by lawmakers about the case against former FBI Director James Comey. Comey is due to appear in a federal court in Virginia Wednesday on charges that he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, asked Bondi whether she had upheld her commitment to keeping the department independent from White House pressure and from partisan politics. Klobuchar pointed to a Truth Social post by Trump last month urging her to prosecute Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California.

Bondi sidestepped questions about Comey, saying she would not discuss pending cases or any conversations she had with the president.

(Updates with comments on Comey case starting in eighth paragraph.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.net;
Jimmy Jenkins in Washington at jjenkins199@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth, Elizabeth Wasserman

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