Bondi Gets Tepid Support From Trump Justice Department Alumni

Pam Bondi’s selection for US attorney general is giving Trump’s prior Justice Department appointees muted reassurance that it’s safe for them to return.

By replacing his first choice, Matt Gaetz, with another Trump loyalist—one with strong law enforcement bona fides—the president-elect appears to have relieved the traditional conservative lawyers who led DOJ in his prior term that they can resume service without as much risk to their reputations, said seven former Trump Justice Department officials.

Many of those officials were previously on the fence after Trump announced Gaetz as his intended nominee.

Bondi, the two-term Florida attorney general and former Trump impeachment defense attorney, is lesser-known in Washington and her Senate confirmation hearing will be closely watched by potential DOJ appointees seeking further confidence, added the sources, most of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Bondi’s lack of federal prosecution experience, efforts to help Trump overturn the 2020 election, and statements echoing his rhetoric about a weaponized Justice Department give some veterans of the previous Trump administration pause. But measured against Gaetz, the former lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct, Bondi at least clears that low bar and should win confirmation, several of the former DOJ officials said.

“Pam Bondi has legal and political expertise that will serve her well at the Department of Justice,” said Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general in the previous Trump administration. “Of course, the skills that get you the job aren’t always the skills you need to do the job.”

It’s unclear how welcome the traditional Republican lawyers who filled the prior Trump DOJ leadership ranks will be to reenlist in a second term where the president-elect has so far prioritized trusted personal relationships over senior DOJ credentials.

The extent to which department veterans, such as past US attorneys and Senate-confirmed division leaders, again fill top posts may signal whether the department maintains traditions of independence from the White House amid Trump’s calls for gutting the civil service and ordering prosecutions of enemies, past DOJ attorneys said.

“I did hear from some people who may have been interested, but the Gaetz thing was just too hard to process. So I think there probably is a renewed interest,” said Greg Brower, a former US attorney in the George W. Bush administration and senior FBI official under Trump. “Bondi is a more traditional pick.”

That doesn’t mean the Bondi pivot will be smooth, Brower added, noting the thorough questioning he expects her to receive from Senate Democrats over her ties to Trump.

“The transition team lost some time and credibility with the Gaetz announcement,” Brower said. “They’re going to have to scramble to get themselves back on track.”