Trump selects Pam Bondi as new attorney general candidate

President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) after Matt Gaetz withdrew amid sex trafficking allegations. A loyal Trump ally, Bondi defended him during his first impeachment trial and supported him at his New York criminal trial. Trump promises Bondi will refocus the DOJ on fighting crime and ensuring safety.

Paul Charlton, a former U.S. Attorney and current partner at Dentons in the firm’s Phoenix office, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the pick and analyze what It could mean for the future of the DOJ.

Bondi was the Attorney General of Florida from 2011 to 2019, and now, just hours after Gaetz withdrew, is in line to become the next U.S. Attorney General.

“That piece of her background is objectively good,” Charlton said. “…it is the kind of thing that we would want in a attorney general of the United States.”

The selection of Bondi to lead the DOJ is already a much less controversial pick, as even critics are pointing out her eight-year background as an Attorney General.

Charlton explained that the Attorney General’s role is not to act as a partisan politican, nor take orders from the President.

“We’ll have to see whether or not she can separate herself from those words that were said in the political environment from her role,” Charlton said. “…it seems that she is likely to be confirmed as Attorney General of the United States.”