Trump's plans for Department of Justice hang over Bondi hearing

WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi will face the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for the first day of her confirmation hearing to be attorney general, a high-profile appearance that could shed light on how she would handle controversial plans for the Justice Department from President-elect Donald Trump.

Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and an ardent Trump supporter, will head into the Senate hearing with strong backing from Republicans who point to her lengthy career as a prosecutor and say she would be a much-needed change agent for the Justice Department.

Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said earlier this month that he was “enthused with her work as attorney general of Florida and what she’s done as a prosecutor.”

“I think we’re going to find the Justice Department prosecuting and not being used as a political weapon against political enemies,” Grassley said in the interview on Fox Business.

Meanwhile, her long track record of supporting Trump is shaping up as a focal point for Democrats, who question whether she will be able to run a Justice Department that’s free of political interference from the White House.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the panel, said Monday on the Senate floor that the Justice Department “is responsible for safeguarding civil rights and liberties, promoting public safety, and ensuring economic opportunity and fairness.”

“An independent attorney general is essential,” Durbin said. “The Justice Department leader must be loyal to the Constitution above all else — including the president.”

Senators could question Bondi on a range of bread-and-butter issues under the Justice Department’s purview, including topics such as drug policy, surveillance authorities, national security, violent crime and immigration.

Bondi could also find herself fielding questions on Trump’s plans and the scope of his legal authority as president. Trump has said he wants to push to end birthright citizenship. He also has plans to pardon defendants arrested in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, although the extent of that effort remains unclear.

Trump has also called for the prosecution of members of the now-disbanded House select committee who investigated the Capitol attack, including now-Sen. Adam B. Schiff. The California Democrat is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Trump, in an interview with Time magazine, said it will be Bondi’s decision as to whether there will be investigations of those such as Schiff, President Joe Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “That’s up to her. That’ll be up to her,” Trump said.

Legal background

Since Trump selected Bondi, Republicans have highlighted her experience as Florida’s first female attorney general. In the role, she worked against human trafficking, filed litigation against opioid manufacturers and helped lead a campaign to get funding to eliminate a backlog of sexual assault kits that had not been tested, according to a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

After her tenure as state attorney general, she worked for years at a lobbying firm, where her clients included corporate giants such as Amazon, Uber and General Motors. Lobbying experts say she will likely have to navigate potential conflicts of interests if confirmed as attorney general — another area where Bondi could face questions.

Bondi’s expected nomination is one of the clearest signs that Trump plans to exert more influence over the department during his second term, a dynamic that could test the limits of an agency that in the past has functioned with a certain amount of independence from the presidency.

Bondi served on Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment, and several attorneys who represented Trump in legal matters have been picked for other key department posts.

Trump’s first pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, was also a staunch supporter of the president-elect, but Gaetz’s bid collapsed amid sexual misconduct allegations and the specter of a then-unreleased ethics report.

This week, Democrats could use the hearing to question Bondi about past comments, such as sowing doubts about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.

At one appearance in Pennsylvania two days after the 2020 Election Day, she said: “Our votes are being suppressed. We cannot count the votes properly.”

“It’s unbelievable what they are trying to do to our votes that have been legally cast, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, your legal votes must be tabulated and they are not doing that,” Bondi said.

Senators could also press her for clarification on comments she made in 2023 on Fox News, in which she gauged what would happen if Republicans took back the White House.

“You know what’s going to happen? The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated,” Bondi said.

The “deep state” was hiding in the shadows during Trump’s first term, she said, referring to the pejorative term for federal employees.

“Now they have a spotlight on them, and they can all be investigated, and the house needs to be cleaned out. Because now we know who most of them are, there’s a record of it, and we can clean house next term. And that’s what has to happen,” Bondi said.

Durbin said Trump has made it clear that he values loyalty above all else in an attorney general.

“I have no reason to believe President-elect Trump has changed his litmus test for attorney general or his views on how the Justice Department should operate,” Durbin said. “In fact, I fear he found someone who can pass his loyalty test. We’ll see at the hearing.”

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