Pam Bondi: President-elect Donald Trump nominates former Florida attorney to replace Matt Gaetz withdraws
Just hours after Matt Gaetz withdrew from President-elect Donald Trump’s next administration due to allegations of illicit drug taking and sexual misconduct, Pam Bondi has been nominated for attorney general.
Ms Bondi has been a long supporter of Mr Trump who spoke fiercly defended the president-elect during the Trump-Clinton 2016 election.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
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“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!”
The nomination came after former US representative Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the administrations attorney general, saying his confirmation was becoming a distraction.
“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,” Gaetz, a Republican, wrote in a post on X.
“Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
The announcement came a day after the House Ethics Committee deadlocked on releasing a report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use by Gaetz, and after he met with Republican senators whose support would be needed to become attorney general.
Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”.
Gaetz’s withdrawal is the first sign that Trump could face resistance from members of his own party to picks with anti-establishment backgrounds.
Gaetz’s announcement came days after a lawyer for two women said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman.
He resigned from the House of Representatives after Trump announced he would nominate him for the cabinet.
One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the lawyer Joel Leppard.
Leppard has said that his client testified she did not think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18.
The age of consent in Florida is 18.
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.
- With Reuters and AP.
