AP Photo/Alex Brandon
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Fox News regular and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for U.S. attorney general on Thursday after Matt Gaetz dropped out of the nomination in the wake of yet another sexual misconduct allegation.
“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States,” announced Trump in a post on Truth Social:
Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families. 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. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore. Pam will refocus the
DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!
Gaetz dropped out on Thursday as Trump’s nominee for attorney general after CNN contacted him about an alleged threesome involving a 17-year-old – the latest in a string of sexual misconduct allegations.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” he announced. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
Trump reportedly called Gaetz on Thursday morning to tell him he did not have enough votes in the Senate to confirm his nomination.