Trump's Trials - President-elect Trump picks Pam Bondi as nominee for attorney general

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

Trump's Trials is now Trump's Terms. Each episode, host Scott Detrow curates NPR coverage of the incoming Trump administration. This episode: President-elect Trump has named Pam Bondi, formerly Florida's top prosecutor, as his new nominee for attorney general. The selection comes after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew. NPR's Ryan Lucas speaks to Morning Edition host A Martinez.Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and you're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. We will have really great strong people. Donald Trump is unstoppable. Make America healthy again. The future is going to be amazing. Each episode we bring you the latest news about the people who will advise and report to President Donald Trump in his second term. From cabinet secretaries to political advisors to top military leaders, NPR is following their

path to power and exploring how their ideas could become reality. You're about to hear a story about just that in a minute. This week on our podcast, Here and Now Anytime, have you had a frustrating conversation about politics with someone you disagree with lately? Most Americans have, according to a Pew survey from before the election, so I'm gonna guess that number has only gone up. We're kicking off a series on finding common ground called Conversations Across the Divide.

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on the Shortwave Podcast from NPR. I'm Ian Martinez. President-elect Donald Trump's controversial pick for attorney general is officially out of the running. Trump started the day yesterday with former representative Matt Gaetz as his nominee to become the next attorney general is officially out of the running. Trump started the day yesterday with former representative Matt Gaetz as his nominee to become the next attorney general. By the time the day was over, Gaetz was out and Trump had a new nominee, former Florida

attorney general, Pam Bondi. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is following all of this. So Ryan, who is Pam Bondi? Well, to start with, she's a former attorney general for the state of Florida, the first woman to hold that position. She served in that job for about eight years in her office. During that time, unsuccessfully challenged the Affordable Care Act among other actions that she took. Before that, she worked for nearly two decades as a local prosecutor in Florida in a statement in which Trump announced his decision. The president-elect said that as a prosecutor,

Bondi was very tough on violent criminals. And as a state attorney general, he says that she worked to stop the flow of deadly drugs into Florida. Trump has known Bondi for years. He says she's smart, she's tough and that she will focus the justice department on fighting crime. Now, Michelle mentioned that Bondi is replacing Matt Gaetz.

Walk us through what happened with Gaetz's nomination. Well, look, Gaetz was a huge surprise when Trump picked him and it was clear from the outset that he was going to face a difficult climb to confirmation. The reasons were pretty clear. He'd been the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation, one that ended without charges, it has to be said.

But also the house ethics committee was investigating him over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gates has denied any wrongdoing, but all of that baggage was put front and center the minute that Trump picked him for attorney general. Gates said in a statement yesterday that it was clear to him that his confirmation was, as he put it, unfairly becoming a distraction to the Trump vans transition.

He said there wasn't any time to waste on what he called a drawn out fight over his confirmation. And so he withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general. You mentioned that Trump has known Bondi for years. What do we know about their history? They have known each other for years. In fact, they face questions over a political donation that Trump made to support Bondi's reelection campaign when she was Florida attorney general and a decision that her office made not to pursue legal action against Trump University. They have

denied there was anything improper with that. But Bondi has long been a supporter of Trump. She spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention when Trump was running for president then. She was an attorney on Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial. She now leads the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute.

That's a right-wing think tank that's led by some former Trump administration staffers. So Bondi is very much a Trump supporter and someone who's very much rooted in Trump world. All right. So assuming Bondi is confirmed, how important could she be to Trump's second term agenda? Well, look, this is a really big, really important job. It's an important job in every administration because the attorney general is in charge of the hundred thousand plus people who work for the justice department, the job oversees the FBI, the drug enforcement administration. The attorney general prosecutes federal crimes, they enforce civil rights laws,

they play a big role in national security. They at root are responsible for upholding the rule of law, but Trump and his team, we know view attorney general as one of the most important jobs in his incoming administration. In part, that's because Trump had a rocky relationship with the Justice Department in his first term. But it's also because Trump has claimed that the Justice Department was weaponized against him. And during the campaign, he repeatedly talked about seeking vengeance against his perceived political enemies, including folks at the Justice Department. And so a big question for Bondi, if she she's confirmed is whether she will use the powers of the Justice Department to pursue Trump's stated desire for retribution.

That's NPR's justice correspondent, Ryan Lucas. Ryan, thanks. Thank you. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more.

Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. On the TED Radio Hour, on December 24th, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will touch the sun. The spacecraft will hit the closest approach ever to the sun. Astrophysicist Norwar Wafi leads the sun. The spacecraft will hit the closest approach ever to the sun. Astrophysicist Noor Awafi leads the mission. We will be making history. To this day, it's still like magic to me.

Ideas about the sun. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.