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Attorney general nominee has long history with president-elect and was once left in tight spot over legal case against Trump University
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Just hours after Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination as attorney general, Donald Trump found an acceptable face of the MAGA movement to replace him.
Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, spent eight years as the Sunshine State’s top lawyer and has maintained her long association with the president-elect since leaving office.
The former prosecutor is a firm supporter of Israel and called for a crackdown on pro-Hamas demonstrations that erupted at college campuses last year.
“The thing that’s really the most troubling to me [are] these students in universities in our country, whether they’re here as Americans or if they’re here on student visas, and they’re out there saying ‘I support Hamas.’” she told Newsmax.
“Frankly they need to be taken out of our country or the FBI needs to be interviewing them right away.”
Ms Bondi previously called Israel “our greatest ally in the world” in an interview with Fox News, and her support has been welcomed by Jewish lawmakers.
Robert Wexler, the former Democratic representative of Florida, told Jewish Insider: “When it comes to the interests of the Jewish community and having an attorney general that will fight for the protection of the Jewish community, we could not do better than Pam Bondi.”
As attorney general, she opposed same-sex marriage and unsuccessfully attempted to undo Obamacare, which guarantees health insurance coverage to Americans.
Ms Bondi appears to be far more qualified than Mr Gaetz, who only practised law for a couple of years before going into politics.
But like the former Florida congressman, her loyalty to Mr Trump is beyond question.
Eight turbulent days after Mr Gaetz’s nomination was announced, she will likely soothe the fears of Republican senators who will be asked to confirm her.
Many were said to be alarmed at the prospect of elevating Mr Gaetz to the Cabinet table, amid claims – which he denies – of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old schoolgirl.
Having named a successor, Mr Trump is not being shy about what he expects Ms Bondi to do if and when she becomes head of the justice department.
Having complained for much of his first term about how Jeff Sessions, his first attorney general, failed to take control of the department, Mr Trump has learned his lessons as he plans out his second term.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, the president-elect said Ms Bondi would “refocus” the justice department on “fighting crime” instead of targeting Republicans. Mr Trump has been the subject of two federal criminal cases.
The message appeared to be aimed as much at his new attorney general nominee as it was to the media at large.
“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on violent criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida families,” Mr Trump continued.
“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.”
Nevertheless, Ms Bondi’s time as attorney general was not without controversy – and her association with Mr Trump occasionally landed her in hot water.
In 2014, Ms Bondi came under fire when she asked Florida’s governor to postpone the execution of a murderer because it clashed with one of her campaign events.
She later admitted the mistake, saying there was “nothing more important than seeing justice done”.
The 59-year-old was also forced to deny claims that she had not pursued legal action against Trump University – where students claimed to have been cheated out of thousands of dollars in tuition fees – because of a $25,000 donation she received from the then reality TV star.
Mr Trump later agreed to settle for $25 million during his 2016 election campaign in a lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general.
After leaving office, Ms Bondi joined the Trump team as one of the lawyers who fought his first impeachment battle.
In his first term, Mr Trump was accused of conditioning military aid to Ukraine on an investigation into a political rival: Joe Biden, who would go on to fight and beat Mr Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The then president would eventually be acquitted by the Senate following a trial, with senators voting largely along party lines.
Ms Bondi later joined the America First Policy Institute, the MAGA think tank and recruiting ground for members of the new Trump administration, as the head of its legal arm.
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