The nomination hearing for Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, went as smoothly as possible, as Democrats found it hard to ignore her credibility. Not only is she the first woman to serve as Florida attorney general, she served as a prosecutor starting in her 20s.

At the Judiciary Committee’s second hearing for Bondi, held Thursday, the ranking Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., admitted he “wouldn’t hesitate to hire her to represent a client” of his own.

“I’ve reflected on her testimony over and over again, and some of the things about her are truly outstanding and impressive,” Durbin said. But the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member still had a few qualms with Bondi.

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“(Bondi’s) answers to some of the questions appear to have a blind spot when it comes to some fundamental issues — who won the election in 2020?" he said.

The committee invited Bondi to testify on Wednesday, and heard from five witnesses regarding her nomination on Thursday.

At Wednesday’s hearing, when asked about the results of the 2020 presidential election, Bondi said, “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 insinuated she witnessed instances of fraud when she traveled to Pennsylvania to “advocate” on behalf of the Trump-Pence campaign.

What happened at the hearing?

The witnesses testifying on Thursday included Dave Aronberg, a former state attorney, Nicholas B. Cox, a statewide attorney for the Florida attorney general’s office, and Emery Gainey, a former Alachua County sheriff. Bondi did not attend the second day of her hearing.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., raised concerns about Bondi’s ability to say no to Trump, saying he isn’t convinced the attorney general nominee has “the grit and gumption” to say no to the incoming president.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks at the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. | Ben Curtis

“I see no way that I can responsibly vote for a nominee for attorney general who lacks the ability to say no to Donald Trump when he asked her to do something that’s illegal or immoral,” he said. “It’s not a question of whether or if Donald Trump will ask the attorney general to do something illegal or immoral. It’s when.”

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Aronberg, a Democrat, spoke of Bondi’s track record of reaching out across the aisle. He served as the drug czar under her office.

“She didn’t care that I was a Democrat,” Aronberg said. “Today, Florida’s pill mills are no more, the steady stream of cars from Appalachia that constituted the ‘Oxycontin Express’ are a distant memory, and countless lives have been saved because our state’s days as the drug dealer for the rest of the country is an ignominious part of our past.”

He also pushed back on the scrutiny she received for her allegiance to the incoming president.

“I think some of the criticism comes in that she is loyal to President Trump. She is, but I never believed that if asked to do something illegal, that she would normally do that, and she would never step across the line,” Aronberg said.

“I don’t know specifically what she will do, but I know that that’s basically what she will not shy away from, standing up to people in her own party,” he continued. Other witnesses also spoke to her integrity.

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Witness Mary B. McCord, a former DOJ attorney, also testified that Bondi would not have any immunity if she committed any sort of illegal acts.

“There’s no immunity for Attorney General Bondi if she were to engage in illegal activity or unconstitutional activity and carrying out a directive of Donald Trump,” said McCord. She serves as the executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in his opening remarks, said Bondi is “certainly experienced and capable to serve as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer at this very critical time.”

“She will enact desperately needed changes at a department that has been politicized and weaponized for partisan ends with almost 30 years of experience behind her,” Grassley said, echoing concerns from President-elect Trump and Republicans in Washington, D.C. Grassley expects her to “restore both morale and law and order to the department that’s badly needed.”

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