New US government: Trump nominates new candidate for Minister of Justice

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a former prosecutor as the future Minister of Justice following the withdrawal of his preferred candidate Matt Gaetz. Pam Bondi was previously, among other things, Attorney General of Florida. Trump had originally earmarked the controversial Congressman Gaetz for the post. However, he gave up a few hours earlier.

Trump emphasized that Bondi was a prosecutor for around 20 years. In Gaetz’s case, one of the criticisms was that he had no legal expertise or enough experience for the job.

Serious allegations against Gaetz

Above all, Gaetz’s nomination was torpedoed by allegations that he had had sex with a minor and used drugs. The 42-year-old always rejected both. However, several Republican senators publicly doubted that Gaetz would be confirmed by the congressional chamber.

The House Ethics Committee had prepared a report on the allegations – but it was not initially published because Gaetz immediately gave up his seat in the chamber after the nomination, which is usually accompanied by a discontinuation of the proceedings.

Given the narrow Republican majority among the 100 senators, a ministerial appointment would probably fail with just four no votes from their camp. Bondi may have a much better chance of getting through the House of Congress.

Bondi has been in Trump’s orbit for a long time

The 59-year-old has been an active Trump supporter for a long time and stood by the then president during the first impeachment trial against him in Congress in 2019. After the 2020 presidential election, she spread Trump’s false claim that he had been deprived of victory through fraud. In recent months, Bondi has made TV appearances criticizing the cases against Trump and portraying it as if the investigating prosecutors were pursuing him for political motives.

In 2013, as Attorney General of Florida, Bondi decided not to investigate allegations of fraud against what was then known as Trump University – a type of training facility for entrepreneurs with the advertising promise of teaching the “secrets of success” in the real estate business. Bondi came under fire when it was revealed that a Trump foundation had previously donated $25,000 to her campaign to remain in office. She always emphasized that the donation had nothing to do with her decision to investigate. Trump later paid $25 million in a settlement to resolve lawsuits involving fraud allegations surrounding Trump University.