The Senate has voted to confirm Pam Bondi as the next attorney general.
Her confirmation passed the Republican-led chamber with a bipartisan vote 54 – 46.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the lone Democrat to vote in her favor.
The former two-time attorney general of Florida will now lead the Department of Justice which oversees a whopping 115,000 employees.
The DOJ is in charge of critical departments like the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives (ATF) and, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Bondi will be stepping into the role at a tumultuous time for the FBI after 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases could be on fired.
Though lawmakers did not argue about her bona fides for the role.
‘She spent almost 30 years as a criminal prosecutor and then as a state attorney general. She has more trial experience than any modern U.S. Attorney General,’ Republican Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
‘Attorney General Bondi is the most experienced career criminal prosecutor ever to be America’s chief law enforcement officer. She is ready to lead on Day One.’
Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, was confirmed into the role Tuesday evening

Bondi poses with Donald Trump on her Instagram in 2024

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Trump and Bondi pose for a picture
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley posted on X: ‘Pam Bondi’s confirmation is a victory for the rule of law and a promise that safer days are ahead. Ms. Bondi is a career prosecutor who’s dedicated her professional career to pursuing justice.’
‘Under Ms. Bondi’s leadership, I look forward to seeing enhanced accountability at the DOJ and improved responsiveness to Congress and the American people,’ he continued.
Bondi has promised to realign the Department of Justice with its core missions, end weaponization of the legal system, prioritize law enforcement and help address the ‘overwhelming crisis at the border.’
Bondi, 59, battled with Democrats over her ties to Donald Trump during her confirmation hearing in January where she repeatedly batted down questions about the 2020 election results.
But many Democrats questioned whether she would be able to act with independence in the role.
‘We need an Attorney General who knows their duty is to the people – not the President. That person is not Pam Bondi,’ Sen. Adam Schiff posted on X before the confirmation vote.
Having previously helped the president with legal work during his first impeachment trial, Bondi is seen widely as a Trump loyalist.
‘If confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice – and each of its components,’ Bondi said at her confirmation hearing in mid-January.
‘Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end. America must have one tier of justice for all.’

Bondi with her fiancé John Wakefield during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General

President Donald Trump (L) watches as Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a meeting with state and local officials on school safety in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 22, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
‘Politics will not play a part’ in deciding who gets investigated, she confirmed.
Throughout the hearing many of the Democrats’ questions were meant to test how Bondi would act independently from Trump should she take office.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asking whether Donald Trump could run again in 2028 admitted the Republican would not.
‘No, senator, not unless they change the Constitution,’ Bondi said, clearly aware that the 22nd Amendment restricts presidents from serving more than two terms.
Bondi also shared her vision for the role, including her top priority, which she says is being the reestablishment of a one tiered justice system.

Bondi with fiancé Wakefield on her Instagram

The pair reportedly met in 2017
‘If confirmed as the next attorney general of the United States, my overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals and that includes getting back to basics gangs, drugs, terrorist cartels, our border, and our foreign adversaries,’ she said during her opening remarks.
‘Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end,’ she continued. ‘America must have one tier of justice for all.’
Originally Trump nominated former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, though his selection was dogged with scandals regarding his past.
During the process it came to light through a House Ethics Committee report that Gaetz had gotten sexually involved with a minor when he was a congressman. The revelation effectively tanked his chances.