Bondi Advances to Final Senate Vote for Attorney General Confirmation

Pam Bondi, nominee for U.S. Attorney General, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ), Pam Bondi, is moving closer to confirmation after a Senate panel voted to limit debate on her nomination.

Senators voted 52–46 on Monday to invoke cloture on Bondi’s nomination, paving the way for a final vote to confirm the former Florida attorney general.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination in a 12–10 vote on Jan. 29. During her Jan. 15 confirmation hearing, Bondi pledged to put an end to what she called “the partisan weaponization” of the DOJ.

“Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end. America must have one tier of justice for all,” Bondi said in her opening statement to the Judiciary Committee.

Democrats have expressed concerns over whether Bondi would resist orders from Trump if they were illegal. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked on Jan. 15 if Bondi would drop a case “grounded in facts and law” at the White House’s direction.

“Senator, if I thought that would happen, I would not be sitting here today,” Bondi said. “That will not happen. Every case will be prosecuted based on the facts and the law that is applied in good faith, period.”

When senators asked whether special counsel Jack Smith, who worked on the investigation into Trump’s criminal cases, and other political opponents to Trump would be prosecuted upon her confirmation, Bondi said she would not pursue prosecutions for political reasons.

“No one will be prosecuted, investigated because they are a political opponent,” Bondi told the Judiciary Committee. “That’s what we’ve seen for the last four years in this administration.”

During the hearing, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) accused Bondi of being unable to say who won the 2020 presidential election. Hirono’s criticism stemmed from Bondi’s previous stance on the fraud allegations in the 2020 elections, where she expressed her belief that Trump had won in Pennsylvania.

Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) voiced support for Bondi and responded to “some of the attacks” directed at the nominee. In his opening statement to the Senate on Jan. 29, Grassley said that “questioning the results of an election does not make one an election denier.”

Grassley also rejected the notion that Bondi’s support for Trump should disqualify her from leading the DOJ and said the president has the right to choose an attorney general he trusts can take on the role.

“Some of my colleagues also suggested that Ms. Bondi’s loyalty to President Trump is somehow disqualifying. It wasn’t persuasive,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong about President Trump appointing someone who has fiercely defended him to a high position.”

Bondi also received support from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and dozens of other state attorneys general, who jointly sent a letter to the Senate in December 2024 calling for her immediate confirmation.

“Many of us have worked with Attorney General Bondi, and we have witnessed firsthand her legal acumen, her passion for justice, and her steadfast commitment to the rule of law,” they stated.

A coalition of more than 200 organizations, known as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, has urged the Senate to reject Bondi’s confirmation due to concerns over her ability to enforce the law impartially.

The coalition had previously sent a letter to the Senate saying Bondi’s nomination should be disqualified, alleging her legal efforts to help Trump delay the certification of the 2020 election results.

Samantha Flom and Sam Dorman contributed to this report.