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Trump Nominates New Attorney General after Gaetz Bows Out

November 23, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a new U.S. attorney general, after his controversial previous pick decided to withdraw from consideration. On Thursday afternoon, former congressman Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first choice to serve as attorney general, announced that he was not going to pursue the role of top prosecutor, following meetings he had with Republican senators prior to beginning the confirmation process.

Trump himself thanked Gaetz for his willingness to serve in the first place, writing on Truth Social, “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect.” Vice President-elect and current Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) also thanked Gaetz. “I’m extremely grateful for the work Matt put into the nomination process,” Vance said. “He made his decision to withdraw entirely out of respect for President Trump’s administration. Matt is a patriot and I look forward to seeing what he does next.”

In the latest episode of “This Week on the Hill,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) admitted that he was “a little” surprised at Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration. “It was a rocky start and what would have been a long road to his confirmation,” Johnson said of Gaetz’s now-defunct confirmation process. He continued, “The

president was using a lot of political capital on that, I think everybody recognized it. And Matt, to his credit, Matt Gaetz recognized that it was too big of a distraction for President Trump and his agenda and moving forward to get his cabinet situated.”

Referring to the controversy stirred by Gaetz’s nomination in the first place, Johnson opined, “I believe in the principle that every president should be able to choose their own team. The Senate has an advice and consent role, and they should play that. But they should not impede the progress of a president that was elected with such a broad mandate.” He added, “Now, some of these people are [un] conventional. Some of these people have been described as disruptors. But you know what? That’s what the country needs right now. We don’t need more of the status quo.”

However, Johnson noted that Trump had “some extraordinary nominees already lined up for that position” within hours of Gaetz’s withdrawal. On Thursday evening, Trump settled on one: former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again,” Trump declared just six hours after Gaetz announced his withdrawal. The president-elect continued, “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!”

Bondi served as a state prosecutor in Florida before becoming the first woman to be elected the state’s attorney general in 2010. In that role, she worked closely with then-governor Rick Scott (R), now a sitting U.S. senator. After leaving office in 2019, Bondi was hired to assist the first Trump administration during impeachment proceedings. Once the House voted to impeach Trump, Bondi served on Trump’s defense team in the Senate impeachment trial. She has since led the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute and has emerged as a fervent critic of the incumbent Biden-Harris administration’s targeting of Trump.

A report from the Associated Press noted, “She’s been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against Trump,” including calling “Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors who have charged Trump ‘horrible’ people she said were trying to make names for themselves by ‘going after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.’”

Gaetz applauded Bondi’s nomination as “stellar,” adding, “Pam and I worked closely together when she was Florida’s Attorney General and I chaired Criminal Justice in the state house. She’s a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans. She will bring the needed reforms to DOJ.”

Conservative commentator and lawyer Rogan O’Handley also praised Bondi’s nomination, saying, “Not only is she experienced, but I look at where someone stands during times of difficulty. When Trump was being impeached for the perfect Ukraine phone call, Pam was brought in to defend him as legal counsel.” He continued, “Not only was that a courageous move by her, but she also won the case. When it was unpopular to stand with Trump, Pam stood strongly beside him. She’ll make a great US Attorney General.”

In an MSNBC appearance, Morgan State University professor and left-leaning political commentator Jason Johnson described Bondi as a “dangerous and effective pick.” He explained, “Pam Bondi is what I said we should fear because she is competent. We may not agree with her ideologically, but she knows how to do this job.” He added, “She is a dangerous and effective pick, and that’s frankly worse than what we would have got with Matt Gaetz, even with the deplorable moral background that he has.”

Although Bondi has received kudos for her record and congratulations on her new role, some have asked why Gaetz decided to withdraw from consideration in the first place. “You don’t float a pick like Gaetz as the first major power play of your admin unless you’re committed to pushing him through,” posited Blaze News writer Auron MacIntyre. He hypothesized that the Gaetz nomination was either a “ploy” to generate controversy and smooth the way for a comparatively less controversial nomination or else “Trump learned nothing and blundered in again.” He added, “If it’s the second then you can kiss deportations goodbye.”

According to investigative reporter and former Naval intelligence officer Jack Posobiec, however, Gaetz’s confirmation was simply stonewalled by a small cadre of Republican senators who vowed to vote against the confirmation — namely, Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Senator-elect John Curtis (R-Utah). “This kept [Gaetz] 1 vote under the threshold for confirmation,” Posobiec explained.

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.



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