Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, faced the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday for a confirmation hearing that is set to span over two days.
Bondi brings with her an impressive track record, including becoming the first woman to be elected and reelected as the Florida attorney general, which she says impacted her career the most.
“I did my best to keep Florida safe, to continue to stand up for victims of crime and to fight the opioid crisis and the drug crisis,” Bondi said in her opening remarks. Her office targeted drug distributors in her state through legislation and created safe houses for trafficked victims, an initiative she is interested in exploring on the federal level, too.
“If confirmed as the attorney general of the United States, my overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to support the mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals,” Bondi said.

What did Democrats say about Pam Bondi?
Senate Democrats did not take issue with Bondi’s work, but they did take issue with her loyalty to Trump, with many, including Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, asking her if she is prepared to say no to the president.
“The concern is that weaponizations of the Justice Department may well occur under your tenure, and we want to make sure that that’s not the case, that you remain independent, that you remain able to and willing to tell the president no when that’s necessary to protect the Constitution and the integrity of the department,” said Whitehouse, a senator from Rhode Island.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., categorized supporting Bondi as an easy decision. On top of having the right credentials, Bondi has worked closely with Trump when she served as a senior adviser on Trump’s impeachment defense team in 2019.
“Being Trump’s lawyer prepares you for many things,” he said. “You have a longstanding relationship with the president, he trusts you. That’s a good thing. That’s probably why President Kennedy picked his brother, Bobby Kennedy. I guess you can say no to your older brother, and I’m sure you would. This idea that it’s bad is ridiculous.”
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin asked her whether she accepts the results of the 2020 election. Bondi said she accepted that Biden was president but claimed he did not win the election.
“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,” she said. Bondi added that as an “advocate” for the Trump-Pence campaign, she insinuated she witnessed instances of fraud when she traveled to Pennsylvania to “advocate” on behalf of the Trump-Pence campaign.
Sen. Lee asks Pam Bondi about warrant-less electronic searches on Americans
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Bondi a few questions on the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. To conduct a search, a prosecutor must obtain a warrant, something Bondi is experienced in procuring since her 20s when she served as a state prosecutor.
“A warrant is so important because it protects citizens’ rights,” she said. Lee noted that the time-consuming process requires presenting the probable cause in front of the judge, who decides whether or not to issue the warrant.
He asked her if she knew of any exceptions to this law, such as situations with national security concerns.
“I’m not certain about national security,” she said. “But absolutely no for a state process.”
Lee said that the FBI has time and again encroached on the private lives of Americans through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which allows the federal government to conduct surveillance of electronic conversations related to foreign intelligence. FISA doesn’t require a warrant for collecting conversations with foreign actors, even if the conversations include Americans, leaving room for “de facto back door warrant-less (searches),” said the Utah senator. Bondi shared Lee’s concerns about FISA.
Another “unacceptable” reality, Lee said, is the “weaponization of the government, specifically within the Department of Justice, against law-abiding Americans ... whose offense was something along the lines of them exercising their constitutional rights, ranging from Catholics attempting to practice their faith to parents showing up to school board meetings to people showing up to engage in peaceful protesting outside of abortion clinics,” Lee said. He asked her how she would prevent the weaponization of her department.
“Senator, you just gave the classic example of what’s been happening regarding the weaponization going after parents at a school board meeting has got to stop. For practicing your religion, sending informants into Catholic churches must stop,” she said.
Lee said he was pleased with Bondi’s answers. “I’ve enjoyed knowing you, considering you a friend for many years, and look forward to the great things you will do as attorney general of the United States. You have my emphatic support and my vote.”