President-elect Donald Trump went from one Floridian to another Thursday, announcing that former Sunshine State Attorney General Pam Bondi would be his new pick to lead the Justice Department, hours after former nominee Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump, 78, said in a statement on Truth Social. “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, 42, was announced as Trump’s attorney general-designate Nov. 13, but withdrew earlier Thursday after failing to persuade enough Republican senators to support him.
The ex-congressman had been sweating the release of a House ethics report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other transgressions.
Bondi, 59, served as Florida’s first female attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and has been a longtime ally of the 45th president.
“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 said in his statement. “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!” he added.
Bondi previously spoke on behalf of Trump at both the 2016 Republican convention — where she memorably led the delegates in chants of “lock her up” targeting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton — as well as the 2020 convention, where she slammed first son Hunter Biden’s “corrupt” history of overseas business dealings.
After Bondi left the Florida AG’s office, she defended Trump as a member of the White House legal team during his first impeachment in 2020, which ended in a party-line Senate vote to acquit the 45th president.
Bondi also assisted in voter litigation efforts during that year‘s presidential election and the 2024 election.
Previously, she led state efforts challenging former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, which were defeated at the Supreme Court in 2012.
Gaetz praised Trump’s pick to replace him shortly after it was announced.
“@PamBondi is a stellar selection by President Trump for Attorney General,” the former lawmaker wrote on X, noting that he worked with Bondi when he served in the Florida state legislature.
“Pam and I worked closely together when she was Florida’s Attorney General and I chaired Criminal Justice in the state house,” Gaetz said. “She’s a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans.”
“She will bring the needed reforms to DOJ.”
Gaetz bowed out of the AG confirmation process after several Republican senators publicly expressed reservations and a desire to hear claims from witnesses to a House Committee on Ethics investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct.
According to their attorney, two witnesses who testified before the committee alleged that Gaetz had paid them more than $10,000 in exchange for sex — and one had seen the Florida pol having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in July 2017.
The witnesses also testified in a since-closed Justice Department probe, which resulted in no charges being brought against Gaetz, who has strenuously denied all wrongdoing.
Gaetz said in an X post on Thursday that he “had excellent meetings with Senators” before withdrawing, but that “it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
Sources told The Post that Gaetz was passed a private whip count showing that he had “no path to confirmation” and made the decision himself to pull out — despite having been “very confident” as recently as Wednesday about taking up the post.
The Florida Republican resigned from Congress the same day that Trump nominated him, but it remains unclear whether he will retake his seat in the 119th Congress.
A GOP aide had previously indicated to The Post that Gaetz was making “a play to become a martyr to boost [his 2026] gubernatorial prospects [in Florida]” with his short-lived bid for US attorney general.
