REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo
Reuters: Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he would nominate former Florida Attorney General and loyalist Pam Bondi to be U.S. Attorney General, moving swiftly to replace his former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl and illicit drug use. He has denied wrongdoing.
Bondi, 59, was the top law enforcement officer of the country's third most populous state from 2011 to 2019, and served on Trump's Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first administration.
She was also part of Trump's defense team during his first impeachment trial, in which he was accused of pressuring Ukraine to conduct a corruption investigation into his rival, now-President Joe Biden, by withholding military aid. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
Most recently, Bondi helped lead the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank whose personnel has worked closely with Trump's campaign to help shape policy for his incoming administration.
Bondi's resume contrasts with that of Gaetz, who has little of the traditional experience expected of an attorney general and who was expected to face opposition from Senate Democrats and some Republicans.
"She is certainly qualified for the position on paper," said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida who now works as a defense attorney with Jones Walker.
"She spent her life prosecuting cases. She has a resume, as compared to the last nominee."
Trump announced his pick of Bondi on social media, praising her for her prosecutorial experience and saying she was tough on crime as Florida's first female attorney general.
Trump, who was elected on Nov. 5 despite being the subject of multiple criminal investigations from U.S. and state prosecutors, said Bondi would end the politicization of federal prosecutions.
"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore," Trump said.
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