US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday appointed his staunch ally Pam Bondi as US attorney general after the flamboyant Matt Gaetz, who helped defend the former leader against impeachment, withdrew from the race.
Gaetz’s withdrawal amid sexual misconduct allegations signaled the limits of Trump’s power, even as the president-elect prepares to take back the White House with his Republican Party in control of both houses of Congress .
The nomination of former Florida Attorney General Bondi, who served as a surrogate during the 2024 campaign and pushed to outlaw vote counting in swing state Pennsylvania in 2020, was made for Trump in an effort to settle personal grievances. Can be seen as a useful tool. ,
“For too long, the partisan Justice Department has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – no more,” Trump wrote on his Truth social network announcing Bondi’s nomination.
Bondy, 59, was a member of Trump’s legal team during his first Senate impeachment trial, in which he was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand over political dirt on Biden by using the aid as a bribe. .
“Pam will refocus the DOJ on its intended purpose of fighting crime and making America safe again,” Trump wrote. He said she is “smart and tough, and America’s first fighter.”
Trump has made several attractive picks for top roles, including Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and billionaire Elon Musk to lead a government cost-cutting unit. Are included.
The exit of Gaetz, 42, was the first blow to Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in placing key allies in top positions, but his confirmation by the Senate was widely considered doomed due to a lack of support from fellow Republicans.
ethics investigation
A congressional panel is investigating Gaetz’s alleged illegal activity, including sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl – which he denies – as well as drug use and misuse of campaign funds.
“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday,” Gaetz said on Twitter.
“Although momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly designed to distract from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition.”
Gaetz was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and recently won re-election, but he resigned as a congressman shortly after Trump chose him as attorney general.
Trump said in response to his withdrawal, “Matt has a great future and I look forward to seeing all the great things he does.”
The ethics investigation into Gaetz, a deeply polarizing congressman from Florida, effectively ended after he resigned from the House.
Gaetz is known as a political disruptor, having earned the enmity of some House colleagues, including engineering the removal of fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the post of speaker last year.
The latest transition turmoil ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 came as new vague details emerged about Hegseth, his nominee for defense secretary.
He was investigated for sexual harassment after an anonymous woman complained at a 2017 conference in California.
The New York Times reported details of the police investigation, which was closed without charging Hegseth.
The married woman told authorities that her memory of the incident was hazy and she thought her drink may have been spiked, while Hegseth said the encounter was consensual.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
