What to know about Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general

TALLAHASSEE — President-elect Donald Trump has a new pick for U.S. attorney general — and it’s another Florida person.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Trump’s next choice for the post after Matt Gaetz withdrew his name for consideration.

Bondi, 59, is a Temple Terrace native and has been a familiar face to Floridians and Tampa Bay residents for decades.

She’s been a reliable supporter for the former president. Here’s what else to know about her:

1. She was a longtime prosecutor and spokesperson

Bondi was a prosecutor and semi-regular spokesperson at the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office between 1992 and 2009. She estimated in 2010 that she’d handled thousands of cases, including murder, rape and drug felonies.

She was also a frequent guest and legal analyst on CNN and Fox News, giving her hours of experience behind the camera.

During her tenure, she made national news for one of her own cases, a 16-month custody dispute over a St. Bernard. The dog was rescued from New Orleans and sent to the Pinellas County Humane Society, where Bondi adopted it days after losing her own St. Bernard to cancer.

The original owners tracked down the dog and sued to get it back. Bondi accused them of neglecting the dog, but eventually settled the lawsuit and returned it.

2. She was Florida’s first female attorney general

Bondi surprised her colleagues and friends when she decided to run for Florida attorney general in 2010.

She ran as a conservative, pro-business Republican who railed against the federal government and then-President Barack Obama.

She rode the same Tea Party wave that swept Rick Scott into the governor’s mansion, becoming the first woman to become Florida attorney general.

In office, Bondi challenged the Affordable Care Act and the Environmental Protection Agency’s limits on air pollutants and opposed semiautomatic weapon bans enacted in other states after the Sandy Hook shooting and same-sex marriage. She also kept up her appearances on Fox News.

She also advocated to rewrite the state’s prescription drug laws to try to stop the opioid epidemic, and she shut down pill mills. In 2018, she sued several drug makers and pharmacies.

3. She declined to go after Trump University

in 2013, Bondi accepted a $25,000 reelection campaign check from Trump while her staff reviewed a complaint about Trump University.

Nearly two dozen people complained to the state about Trump University, most of them before she took office in 2011. Meanwhile, New York’s attorney general sued, alleging that Trump University and its affiliates were “sham for-profit colleges” that ripped off 5,000 consumers.

A month after receiving the donation, Bondi’s office announced it was dropping its case. Six months after the donation, Trump hosted a fundraiser for Bondi at Mar-a-Lago.

When the controversy resurfaced in 2016, Bondi denied being involved in the decision to drop the case.

“I would never, ever trade any campaign donation — that’s absurd — for some type of favor to anyone,” Bondi said at the time.

4. She defended Trump and alleged fraud in 2020

Even before she left the state attorney general’s office in 2019, rumors swirled that she would take a job in Trump’s administration.

Instead, Trump hired her later that year to temporarily coordinate and be the public face of the response to the House’s impeachment inquiry into Trump.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, she appeared alongside Trump claiming there was widespread fraud that cost him the election.

During one Fox News appearance, she claimed without evidence that there were “fake ballots that are coming in late” in Pennsylvania.

“Pam, did you just say ‘fake ballots’?” the program’s host, Steve Doocy, then asked.

“There could be. That’s the problem. If they’re letting — we don’t know, Steve,” Bondi said.

In 2021, she took charge of the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Action.

5. Her lobbying clients included a private prisons operator

After leaving office in 2019, Bondi became a lobbyist at Ballard Partners, where her clients included private prisons operator Geo Group and the country of Qatar.

Her work for the country was focused on helping it develop effective anti-human trafficking efforts related to the 2022 World Cup, a colleague said at the time.

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