Pam Bondi grilled over Trump's influence at AG hearing: 5 takeaways

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice, echoed attacks on the agency she would lead if confirmed, but demurred on how she might handle tests of its independence.

Bondi is a more traditional pick to lead the department than Trump’s initial choice, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). She’s a longtime prosecutor and spent two terms as the Florida attorney general, where she focused in particular on battling drugs.

But she’s a controversial pick for Democrats as someone who worked on Trump’s 2020 election challenges and has been highly critical of the investigations, even calling for “prosecutors to be prosecuted.”

Fears over Trump’s influence on DOJ

Democrats hammered Bondi over what they see as the greatest issue facing her in the role: her ability to push back against a president who has repeatedly said he would go after his enemies and said he has the “absolute right” to do what he wants with the Justice Department.

Bondi repeatedly referenced the multiple investigations into Trump as evidence that the Department of Justice has been weaponized, vowing to end politicization at the department.

“If confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice — and each of its components. Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end,” she said in her opening statement.

But that was alarming to Democrats, who pointed to numerous statements from Trump calling for revenge against a long list of his adversaries.

“I need to know that you would tell the president no if you're asked to do something that is wrong, illegal or unconstitutional,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel.

He described Bondi as someone who “has passed Donald Trump’s attorney general loyalty lest with flying colors, whether by peddling election lies or saying she will prosecute perceived enemies, and her unflinching loyalty to the President-elect raises serious concerns about the future of an independent Justice Department.”

She also faced questions about actions she would take against Trump’s critics. She dismissed many of them as hypotheticals, irking Democrats who noted many of their questions were drawn from Trump’s own comments.

“I will never speak on a hypothetical, especially one saying that the president would do something illegal,” Bondi said.

She later declined to say whether she would appoint a special counsel to investigate Trump if he was accused of illegal activity.

“What I do know is special prosecutors have been abused in the past on both sides. We have seen that for many, many years. …and I will look at each situation on a case-by-case basis and consult the appropriate career ethics officials within the department to make that decision,” she said.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling gives Trump a “loaded weapon…to commit crimes through the Department of Justice” and said that like her processors under the first Trump administration she would face ethical dilemmas.

“You may say you believe that conflict will never come, but every day, week, month and year of the first Trump administration demonstrated that conflict will come,” he said.

Bondi also said she had never had discussions with Trump about investigating President Biden or former members of the Jan. 6 panel like Liz Cheney and Schiff.

That was reassuring to figures like Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who said he was “satisfied” that “this is not an agenda that you have.”

But Bondi wouldn’t commit when Schiff asked whether she would investigate special counsel Jack Smith.

“I haven't seen the file. I haven't seen the investigation. It would be irresponsible for me to make a commitment,” she said.

She later added about the investigation: “Senator, what I’ve seen on the news is horrible.”

Bondi has previously criticized DOJ investigations into Trump, saying on Fox News in 2023 that the “deep state” was working against him.

“The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted — the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated,” she said at the time.

Republicans on the panel hammered their Democratic colleagues for being so singularly focused on DOJ independence.

“The focus of these questions today are disturbing. I don't think my Democrat colleagues learned very much from the Nov. 5 election,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a former attorney general himself who introduced Bondi at the start of the hearing.

“Their obsession with President Trump didn't bode well for them electorally, and I think if they stay on his path, they'll be in a permanent minority.”

Wouldn’t acknowledge Trump’s 2020 loss

Bondi dodged a question from Durbin about whether Trump lost the 2020 election.

The former Florida attorney general echoed other Republicans in stating that President Biden is now the president, but she would not say that Trump lost and described the transition as peaceful despite the events of Jan. 6.

“President Biden is the President of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the President of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024,” Bondi said.

She went on to float possible fraud in Pennsylvania, where she aided the Trump campaign in challenging the election. None of the 62 lawsuits Trump brought challenging the election scored a victory in court.

That response was unsatisfactory to Durbin.

“I think that question you deserved yes or no, and I think the length of your answer is an indication that you weren't prepared to answer yes,” he responded.

She was later criticized by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) when he asked if she could provide evidence to back her claims in Pennsylvania, noting another member of the Trump campaign’s legal team, Rudy Guiliani, was disbarred for similar statements.

Patel problems

A running theme throughout the hearing was how Bondi would handle Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, an agency under the purview of the Justice Department.

Democrats zeroed in on a string of controversial comments from the Trump loyalist, from pledging to “come after” the media to crafting a list of “government gangsters” he included in a book by the same name.

“If he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed — he will follow the law if I am the attorney general of the United States of America. And I don't believe he would do anything otherwise,” she said.

That was not comforting to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

“While I agree you would be the boss of Kash Patel, I'm not sure that you would be able to intervene with every decision or position that he had or know what he's doing,” she said.

Bondi did later criticize Patel’s comments on prosecuting journalists, saying, “Going after the media just because they are the media is wrong, of course.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-S.C.), at one point teased his Democratic colleagues for being so fixated on Patel, saying it was a good sign for Bondi.

“You should be happy that so many comments have been directed towards cash Patel, whose confirmation I am supporting,” he said.

“So if it comes up again, you will once again know that you've got a great reputation and a great resume, and they're just trying to find things to put your integrity into question.”

National security issues

Bondi also faced a number of questions about both immigration and a policy allowing for the warrantless surveillance of foreigners located abroad.

Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation operation in history and Bondi said she would back efforts to increase bed capacity in order to detail more migrants.

“I'm going to do everything in my power to fix it….We need more beds,” she said.

“My job, if confirmed as attorney general, will be to keep America safe and that includes having enough space for violent criminals.”

Bondi also faced questions about Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Bondi wasn’t pressed to stake out a position on the law, but the questions made clear the tough position the department will be in when the law is up for renewal in 2026.

While Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) stressed the need for warrants, others like Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) called it the “crown jewel” of the intelligence toolbox, stressing the need to keep it largely intact.

Confirmation appears likely

Republicans heaped praise on Bondi as an excellent pick for attorney general.

“When Pam was nominated by President Trump, my reaction was, ‘This is a home run.’ As many of us are, I was only outdone by Sen. [Lindsey] Graham (R-S.C.), who described the nomination as a Grand Slam touchdown hole in one ace hat trick slam dunk, Olympic gold medal. And he was right,” Schmitt said.

“I think your history, your qualifications, your demeanor, your character, warrant a bipartisan vote. I hope you get it,” he added later.

Grassley ended the hearing by calling her “eminently qualified” to lead the department.

Padilla also said he expected Bondi to be confirmed.

“I know how to count and I know how to read tea leaves. It seems to me you're very, very, very, very likely to be confirmed,” he said.

“And I certainly look forward to seeing you demonstrate the independence and respect for the rule of law that you have suggested to the committee.”

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