Soon afterwards it announced that Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, would seek the top position at the Justice Department instead.
Ms Bondi, 59, who served as Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and represented the president-elect at his first impeachment trial in the Senate, is both an experienced public official and a long-time Trump ally. Mr Gaetz reacted to the choice on X/Twitter by calling her “a stellar selection” as well as “a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans”.
South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham was even more effusive, posting: “Well done, Mr President. Picking Pam Bondi for Attorney General is a grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick. She will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed quickly.”
Donal Trump and Ms Bondi have ties that date back over a decade, to when Bondi was serving as Florida’s first female attorney general. In 2013, as Ms Bondi’s office was receiving complaints from people alleging they had been scammed by the future president’s Trump University seminars, her political committee received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J Trump Foundation.
While New York pursued lawsuits related to the seminars, the Sunshine State did not. Both Mr Trump and Ms Bondi have denied the donation was improper or related to the charging decision. That wasn’t the only campaign-related scandal in her time in Florida. That same year, she persuaded then-governor Rick Scott to reschedule the execution of convicted murderer Marshall Lee Fore to accommodate a fundraiser.
This story is from the November 23, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 23, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Zhao goes trophy hunting after match-fixing ban ends
When the main stage of the UK Championship - still widely considered snooker's second-biggest event after the World Championship - kicks off in York this afternoon, there will be an amateur player taking to the baize.
Wales look set for a biblical bashing against Springboks
Many a frustrated writer in search of a metaphor has plucked from the passages of 1 Samuel in the past but this week, the tale of David and Goliath feels apt.
Amorim lays down law as United begin new chapter
Ruben Amorim was running through Manchester United's recent managerial history.
Shame on PM for ignoring.lawyers' £4bn tax loophole
While most major employers were gnashing their teeth at the increase in their national insurance in the Budget, one group was celebrating.
Ofgem raises price cap as millions lose fuel payments
The energy price cap will increase in January for a second consecutive time, raising bills by 1.2 per cent as millions of people lose access to winter fuel payments.
'My father knew he was a target from the start but stayed to defend his people'
As pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces a potential life sentence in the high-stakes national security case in Hong Kong, his son Sebastien Lai has denounced the proceedings as a politically motivated \"show trial\" driven by a China-led crackdown on dissent politically motivated “show trial” driven by a China-led crackdown on dissent.
Meet Trump's second pick for attorney general top job
The incoming Trump administration didn't waste any time on Thursday after Matt Gaetz said that he was dropping his bid to become attorney general.
Judge postpones Trump's 'hush money' sentencing
The judge overseeing Donald Trump's historic hush money trail has postponed his sentencing indefinitely as he considers arguments from the president-elect's legal team to close the case.
McGregor raped woman in hotel, civil court jury finds
A woman who accused Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel six years ago has won her claim against him for damages in a High Court civil case.
Cop29 $250bn climate fund.offer dismissed as insulting
Hopes of a trillion-dollar climate finance fund appear to be slipping out of reach after a draft text at the COP29 climate summit proposed a deal worth only a fifth of that.
