Incoming President Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi is on the hill today meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing. Bondi’s opening statement included a commitment to “restore confidence and integrity” to a Justice Department that has been increasingly weaponized under the Biden-Harris Administration.
“If confirmed, I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components. The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all,” Bondi said during her opening statement.
Read Bondi’s opening statement and watch below:
Thank you, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is an honor to be nominated to serve as the 87th Attorney General of the United States. I am grateful to President Trump for his confidence and to this Committee for its consideration. To the Senators who made the time to meet with me regarding my nomination, I appreciate your insight and look forward to working with each of you to solve the important issues facing our nation.
I would not be here without my family, which has taken over a large portion of the gallery behind me. And today especially, I miss my father, whose example continues to inspire me every day.
From the moment I began to work as an intern at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, I knew I wanted to spend my life as a prosecutor. I spent 18 years handling countless prosecutions and jury trials, ranging from driving under the influence to domestic violence and capital murder. Nothing has shaped my career or vision of the law more than my experience as a prosecutor.
In 2011, I was elected Attorney General of Florida and proudly served for two terms. In that role, my top priority was keeping Florida safe and standing up for victims and their families. When my term began, Florida was overwhelmed by pill mills and opioid deaths. I fought for tough legislation and worked to eliminate these drug dealers from our state. We also protected human trafficking victims by raising awareness, providing critical resources, and creating additional safe houses.
On the civil side, we worked to protect consumers. We tackled everything from overreach by big tech companies to off-label prescription marketing. We partnered with State Attorneys General from both parties and federal agencies across administrations.
If confirmed as United States Attorney General, my overriding objective would be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously enforcing the law. That requires getting back to basics—prosecuting violent crime and gang activity, stopping child predators and drug traffickers, protecting our nation from terrorists and other foreign threats, and addressing the overwhelming crisis at the Border. The Department of Justice must also return to defending the foundational rights of all Americans, including free speech, free exercise of religion, and the right to bear arms. That is what the American people expect and deserve from the Department. If confirmed, I will do what it takes to make America safe again.
Making America safe again also requires reducing recidivism. We must fix the Bureau of Prisons and follow through on the promise of the First Step Act by building new halfway houses. The Bureau has suffered from years of mismanagement, lack of funding, and low morale. Federal corrections officers serve in challenging conditions on minimal pay and need more support. Our prison system can and will do better.
President Trump’s leadership on criminal justice reform demonstrates what is possible when a President is unafraid to do things that have been deemed “too difficult” and to reach across the aisle to bring about real solutions. Like the President, I believe we are on the “cusp of a New Golden age” where the Department of Justice can and will do better.
Lastly, and most importantly, if confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice – and each of its components. Under my watch, the partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice will end. America must have one tier of justice for all.
In all this work, I would collaborate closely with this Committee and others in Congress, my colleagues throughout the federal government, and our partners in state and local law enforcement and around the world. I look forward to answering your questions today and working together in the years ahead.
Nominee for AG, Pam Bondi’s Opening statement:
“If confirmed, I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components. The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.” pic.twitter.com/NujZZr6Rlc
— America (@america) January 15, 2025