Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi has arrived at the Hart Senate Office Building for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
— Ece Yildirim
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General Pam Bondi meets with incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) in his office at the Hart Senate Office Building on December 02, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Pam Bondi wasn’t Trump’s first choice to lead the Department of Justice — she replaced former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his bid for attorney general amid a swirl of sexual misconduct allegations and other controversies.
Bondi, the former AG of Florida and lobbyist, is a much safer pick by comparison. But she is likely to face intense scrutiny from Democrats over the extent of her loyalty to Trump, given their fears about how the incoming president might seek to wield the government‘s justice system against his foes.
Bondi, 59, had helped lead the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank, and defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial in 2020.
She has also criticized the criminal cases that Trump faced prior to his election, including those brought by former special counsel Jack Smith, claiming that the legal system was weaponized.
— Kevin Breuninger
The process of appointing Trump’s Cabinet kicked off Tuesday with a contentious Senate confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth, one of the president-elect’s most controversial picks.
Despite Democrats’ best efforts to grill Hegseth on his relative lack of experience and a series of allegations about his past, the former Fox News host emerged from the hearing likely to be confirmed.
There were some tense moments, however. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., zeroed in on Hegseth’s admitted past infidelities and a 2017 sexual assault accusation against him.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and others pressed Hegseth about his past comments opposing women in combat.
But Hegseth got a warm embrace from Republicans. A key GOP holdout, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, said later Tuesday that she would vote to confirm him.
— Kevin Breuninger
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, holds the name plate from when she served in Congress during the House Natural Resources Committee hearing on H.R. 3397 to “require the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw a rule of the Bureau of Land Management relating to conservation and landscape health,” in Longworth Building on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
A scheduled confirmation hearing today for South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick for to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was abruptly postponed late Tuesday afternoon.
A former member of the House, Noem’s confirmation process was expected to be the most controversial of today’s slate.
The reason for the postponement was given, but The Hill newspaper reported that it was “due to a delay on the FBI background check” for Noem.
— Christina Wilkie
