The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to advance Pam Bondi’s nomination for U.S. attorney general, setting up a full Senate vote later this week. All 12 Republicans on the panel supported her while all 10 Democrats opposed.
Bondi, who previously served as Florida’s attorney general, built her reputation by taking on drug trafficking, violent crime, and the state’s widespread “pill mills.” She also spent 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office, a background that supporters say has prepared her to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
During her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bondi vowed to depoliticize the Justice Department if confirmed. “The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone,” she said. “America will have one tier of justice for all.” Whether she will be able to execute that vision remains to be seen.
If confirmed, Bondi’s former colleagues expect her to bring the same aggressive approach she used in Florida to the Justice Department, with a particular focus on combating drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling drugs across the border.
