Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, faced sharp questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday morning, the New York Times reports. Bondi refused to explicitly say she would defy White House pressure — or admit that Trump lost the 2020 election — and instead offered a promise that “politics will not play a part” in her work at her confirmation hearing. Bondi was polished and self-assured in the face of sharp questioning by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee during the hearing’s morning session. She sought to project the image of an independent, crime-fighting prosecutor, while repeatedly expressing loyalty to Trump and her belief that he had been the victim of politically-motivated prosecution by the Biden administration.
Bondi replaced Trump’s first pick to lead the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, the former Republican representative of Florida. Gaetz withdrew from consideration after a furor over allegations of sexual misconduct, including with an underage girl, made it unlikely he would have the support to be confirmed. Bondi, 59, is a far more conventional, qualified candidate than Gaetz, which virtually ensures support among Senate Republicans, and the possibility that she will pick up a Democrat or two.