After Matt Gaetz removed himself from consideration for Attorney General on Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his replacement pick just a few hours later: Pam Bondi, the former AG of Florida.
“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country,” he continued. “She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!”
Trump went on to say that “the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans” and that Bondi will “refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”
He concluded, “I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”
Gaetz bowed out of the appointment amid allegations of having sex with two minors, saying, “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” he added, stating that he “will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice.”
The former Florida Congressman, who resigned from the House after being named to Trump’s cabinet, has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The committee’s report on Gaetz’ alleged misdeeds has not yet been released.
Vanity Fair reported on Wednesday that Gaetz allegedly paid two women more than $10,000 for sex.
