Pam Bondi takes the spotlight

The last thirty-six hours have seen more lightning developments, and what they mean depends on whom one asks. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) abruptly withdrew his name from consideration as the next United States Attorney General. Within eight hours of that announcement, Trump had nominated someone else: Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida. Is this another Trumpian half loaf? Or did President-elect Donald J. Trump intend to nominate her all along, and was Matt Gaetz’ nomination a calculated distraction?

Who is Pam Bondi?

Pam Bondi served as Attorney General of Florida from 2010 through 2019. She became most famous as the lead plaintiff in Florida ex rel. Bondi v. HHS – the “Obamacare Case.” The only reason she lost that case is that Chief Justice John Roberts, in an abrupt break with the Originalist Bloc as it then existed (and with Justice Anthony Kennedy, the other Moderate on the Court), upheld the Individual Mandate as a legitimate and constitutional tax on individuals, however selective that tax might be. 567 U.S. 519 (2012). The Tampa Bay Times upbraided her for “Bondi’s needless crusade.” Pam Bondi defiantly said she filed the case to uphold religious liberty.

Trevor Noah has more on her, specifically these two X posts:

Pam Bondi is intimately familiar with the house she’s about to clean. They should have settled with Matt Gaetz. Lawrence Jones III, morning-show host

Pam Bondi is intimately familiar with the house she’s about to clean. They should have settled with Matt Gaetz.— Lawrence Jones III (@LawrenceBJones3) November 22, 2024

[Pam Bondi] is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has been notably active in both Florida state politics and national politics, particularly during the Trump administration.

• Pamela Jo Bondi was born on November 17, 1965, in Temple Terrace, Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1987 and later from Stetson Law School with a Juris Doctor in 1990. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1991.

• Bondi served as an Assistant State Attorney in Hillsborough County, Florida, for over 18 years, focusing on cases ranging from domestic violence to capital murder.

• She was elected as the 37th and first female Attorney General of Florida in 2010, serving from 2011 to 2019. During her tenure:

– She was known for her aggressive stance against “pill mills,” combatting opioid abuse, and addressing human trafficking.

– Bondi gained national attention for her unsuccessful lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

• Bondi was part of President Donald Trump’s legal defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.

– She briefly worked at the White House as a special government employee to assist with messaging during Trump’s impeachment proceedings.

– Post her role as Florida AG, she joined Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to Trump, and she lobbied for foreign interests including Qatar.

• As of 2024, Pam Bondi leads the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, aligning with Trump’s political agenda. This role involves her in activities related to law, justice, and policy advocacy.

• Bondi is a staunch ally of Trump, known for her loyalty to him and his policies. MJTruthUltra (X)

Pam Bondi background… 🔎

She is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has been notably active in both Florida state politics and national politics, particularly during the Trump administration.

• Pamela Jo Bondi was born on November 17, 1965, in Temple Terrace,… https://t.co/vmOqQlEvR9 pic.twitter.com/ds3MguaNoN— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) November 21, 2024

Today, Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily had more. He quoted an MSNBC contributor named James Johnson as expressing fear of Pam Bondi – because “she’s competent.” And, true enough, Matt Gaetz has no prosecutorial experience, nor indeed any experience in the practice of law. His nomination to be Attorney General shocked the establishment, as much for that reason as in fear of any retribution he might exact, on his own behalf or on that of Donald Trump.

Occasionally, attorneys general try to behave like they are not the personal lawyer of the President of the United States. That is completely out the window. Pam Bondi is exactly what I was saying in the last segment that we should all fear, because she’s competent. We may not agree with her ideologically, but she actually knows how to do this job. So if anyone on the Democratic side or anyone who cared about liberty or justice was thinking, “Well maybe Matt Gaetz will screw this up and that will give us time,” no. Pam Bondi knows what she is doing.

She knows what she’s doing about immigration. Remember, Florida is one of those states that has been very aggressive about migrants and deportation and moving people to different states and everything else like that. Florida has enacted all sorts of rules and laws to curtail students and what they can do on campuses and finding legal justifications for manipulating education money.

She is a dangerous and effective pick, and that’s frankly worse than what we would have got with Matt Gaetz, even with the deplorable moral background that he has. Jason Johnson

JUST IN: MSNBC guest melts down over Trump picking Pam Bondi as the next Attorney General, says they should "fear" her because she's competent.

Liberal political scientist Jason Johnson said Bondi is an "effective pick" who is "worse" than Matt Gaetz.

"We should all fear [her]… pic.twitter.com/PUaGWVqEeR— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 21, 2024

User “Grateful Calvin” at Twitchy.com picked up on Mr. Johnson’s statement, calling it an “accidental endorsement.”

Gaetz may have been Trump’s “wild card” pick, but on paper, Bondi is an even better choice. She has an impeccable resume for the job, having been a prominent prosecutor in Hillsborough County, Florida, before becoming the state’s first female Attorney General, serving from 2011 to 2019. After her tenure, she also served on Trump’s impeachment defense team, infuriating the left with her accurate allegations of Biden family corruption with respect to Ukraine.

Yep. We love her already.

Whither Matt Gaetz?

For eighteen hours, Matt Gaetz left many of his friends thinking that he would soon add the title Senator, or at least Senator-designate, to his name. That might have been a reasonable assumption. At least two influencers have stated that Matt Gaetz didn’t have to withdraw. He had the support of the President-elect, and had an early start on the confirmation process.

Furthermore, the events of the last several days looked like a classic feint in football, soccer, basketball, etc. Introduce Gaetz, provoke Democrats – and RINOs – to apoplexy, then withdraw his name and introduce Pam Bondi instead. What would Gaetz get out of it? A seat in the Senate, after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) resigned to become Secretary of State.

But today he made abundantly clear that he does not want a seat in the Senate or the House. In an interview with Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, he said:

I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress.

JUST IN: Matt Gaetz tells Charlie Kirk that he does *not* intend on joining the 119th Congress, hints he has other plans "from a new perch."

The statement comes after Gaetz withdrew his name from the AG nomination.

"I'm still going to be in the fight, but it's going to be from… pic.twitter.com/CU7ipJvSWl— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 22, 2024

He talked freely about the goals he’d had as a prospective Attorney General. This included ending the weaponization of government, including the Censorship Industrial Complex. But, he says, Pam Bondi can do that job at least as well as he could have done. She will also have an easier time winning Senate confirmation.

Matt Gaetz is currently at Mar-a-Lago, helping build an "America First Army" to take over the DOJ.

"You and I have been very involved at Mar-a-Lago at finding patriotic Americans who want to do incredible service, not for themselves, for the country, and putting them in a… pic.twitter.com/KvsHeL20AB— George (@BehizyTweets) November 22, 2024

He probably hasn’t decided exactly what he will do. No doubt he recognized that he had to leave Congress, because he’d made too many enemies. But smoking out RINOs likely seemed his best revenge – and he will likely not stay in private life for long.