The decision will increase scrutiny on controversial nominees, such as the Pentagon candidate
▲ Republican politicians Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump and Pam Bondi in recent images.Photo Afp
Ap
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, November 22, 2024, p. 23
Washington. The next president of the United States, Donald Trump, yesterday named Pam Bondi, former attorney general of Florida, to be Secretary of Justice of that country, hours after his other option, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from the list of applicants.
Bondi is a longtime ally of Trump and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused – but not convicted – of abusing his power by trying to condition US military aid to Ukraine in exchange for that country investigate then-former Vice President Joe Biden.
Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York, which ended in May with a guilty plea to 34 serious charges. She has been president of the America First Policy Institute, a group established by former members of the Trump administration.
For too long, the partisan Justice Department has been used against me and other Republicans. That’s overTrump declared in a social media post. Pam will refocus the department back to its original purpose of fighting crime and making America safe again..
Donald Trump Jr, the future president’s son, told Fox Business on Sunday that the transition team had alternatives in mind for its controversial nominees should they fail to be confirmed. Bondi’s quick selection occurred about six hours after Gaetz retired.
That announcement capped a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to leverage his decisive election victory to force Republican senators to accept controversial picks like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being selected last week for direct it.
The decision could increase scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth, who faces allegations of sexual assault that he denies.
While the momentum was strong, it’s clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction from the crucial work of the Trump/Vance transition.Gaetz, a Florida Republican who met with senators a day earlier in an attempt to win their support, said in a statement.
wonderful future
In a social media post, Trump stated: I very much appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to seek approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be a distraction to the government, which he has a lot of respect for. Matt has a wonderful future and I look forward to seeing all the great things he does!
In 2013, while Florida attorney general, Bondi publicly apologized for asking that the execution of a man convicted of murder be delayed because it overlapped with a campaign fundraising event.
Bondi acknowledged that he was wrong and regretted asking then-Governor Rick Scott to postpone the execution of Marshall Lee Gore for three weeks.