Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who had served as one of President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers for his 2020 impeachment trial, has been sworn in as the new attorney general of the United States.
During her swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, “she’s going to restore fair, equal and impartial justice and restore the constitutional rule of law in America.”
The Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Bondi, with the new attorney general being sworn-in on Wednesday by United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
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The Senate vote had been mostly on party lines, with all Republican members voting for Bondi, while nearly all Democrats voted against. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of Bondi.
Last November, Trump had initially announced that he was nominating former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as his attorney general. However, the choice was opposed by individuals across the political spectrum due to credible allegations of misconduct leveled against Gaetz.
Later that month, Gaetz announced that he was dropping out of consideration for the position, after having met with Republican members of the Senate and receiving what he called “thoughtful feedback.”
With Gaetz no longer in contention, Trump chose Bondi, having previously appointed her to a position on the federal Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first administration.
“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” Trump stated last year.
“Then, as Florida’s first female attorney general, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of fentanyl overdose deaths, which have destroyed many families across our country.”
During Bondi’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked her about the targeting of pro-life activists by the Biden administration.
Hawley also talked about the “weaponization” of the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that the Biden administration “has carried out an unprecedented attack and campaign against people of faith.”
Hawley referenced the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a controversial federal law passed in 1994 and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton that is often used to prosecute pro-life activists who protest at abortion clinics.
Bondi said that, if confirmed as attorney general, she would stop what Hawley called “the disparate treatment of Americans on the basis of religious faith” and “put an end” to “deliberate intimidation of the good American citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs.”
During the same hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Bondi if she will continue to enforce the FACE Act should she be confirmed as attorney general.
Bondi replied that she would enforce the act, adding that “the FACE Act not only protects abortion clinics, but it also protects pregnancy centers, and people going for counseling. The law should be applied evenhandedly.”
Additionally, while Bondi said she identifies as pro-life, she vowed that her “personal feelings would not influence” her actions on litigation regarding abortion laws.
