American Oversight Opposes Pam Bondi’s Nomination for Attorney General
Pam Bondi’s record and history of unflinching loyalty to Donald Trump prove she is unfit to lead the Justice Department.
American Oversight joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and more than 90 civil rights organizations on Tuesday in opposing President Donald Trump’s nomination of Pam Bondi to be U.S. attorney general.
Bondi’s history of unflinching loyalty to Trump and her problematic civil rights record prove she is unfit to fairly and independently lead the Justice Department. Bondi promoted Trump’s stolen election lies after the 2020 election and served as a personal lawyer for Trump during his first impeachment trial. In 2013, as Florida attorney general, Bondi declined to investigate allegations of fraud against the for-profit Trump University after the Trump family foundation sent a check for $25,000 to a political action committee she was associated with.
Bondi’s record on voting and civil rights issues is also deeply alarming. During her tenure in Florida, Bondi advocated to repeal the Affordable Care Act, supported restrictions on abortion, and fought against certain LGBTQ+ rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage.
During his first term, Trump routinely sought to use the department for his own political benefit. He repeatedly called on the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate his perceived enemies and even pressured agency officials to support his attempt to illegally stay in power. Just within his first week and a half back in the Oval Office, Trump has already demonstrated his intent to manipulate and abuse the department during his second term. After pardoning more than 1,500 people who faced prosecution for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Trump’s Justice Department removed its online database of information about criminal charges and convictions related to that day, and the acting attorney general abruptly fired more than a dozen career officials who had worked on the criminal investigations into Trump.
Bondi’s nomination — as well as the nomination of Kash Patel, another avowed loyalist, to lead the FBI — represent a grave threat to the rule of law and the independence of the Justice Department. The U.S. attorney general is accountable to the American people — not the president — and must be committed to ensuring the department enforces laws fairly for all.