The Senate likely will vote to confirm Pan Bondi as President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general Wednesday after she cleared a key political hurdle in the upper chamber.
The Senate on Monday voted 52-46 along party lines to end debate, with Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., not voting.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's confirmation, voted for Monday's measure. Although McConnell voted to move Hegseth's confirmation to a full Senate vote, he surprisingly decided to vote against the nomination.
The Hill reported Bondi's confirmation vote is set for early Wednesday but Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., wrote Monday night in a post on X that the Senate could vote on the confirmations of Bondi and former Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia as head of the Veterans Administration on Tuesday.
"Miss Bondi made history as the first woman elected as Florida attorney general," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on the Senate floor before the vote.
"She served for eight years and was easily reelected to a second term because she did such a great job. She fought against pill mills, eliminated the backlog of rape test kits, and stood for law and order.
"There is no doubt that Miss Bondi is highly qualified. She is capable of doing the job well, and she represents mainstream views shared by at least 77 million Americans who voted for change in the 2024 election," he said.
"This should earn her the same bipartisan support this body gave to Attorney General [Merrick] Garland, including the senator. I am disappointed that none of my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee voted for Miss Bondi, and I hope the full Senate takes a different approach."
Grassley said if Democrats aren't willing to cross the aisle and vote to confirm Bondi, they are "showing that their intent on opposing President Trump's picks are purely partisan reasons."
"Miss Bondi is ready and able to serve our country, and she will work with President Trump to restore faith in the Justice Department," Grassley said.
Democrats are concerned that Bondi, who worked on Trump's legal team that contested the results of the 2020 election, will be able to act independently of Trump.
"Given the Trump administration's ongoing purge of Justice Department officials, I urge my colleagues to look very carefully and closely at Miss Bondi's nomination," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, on the Senate floor.
"President Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he values loyalty above all else when it comes to attorney generals. Don't take my word for it. Look what happened in this first term. He fired his first attorney general and forced out a second for insufficient loyalty.
"President Trump has said time and time again that he expects the Justice Department to seek retribution on his behalf. With Miss Bondi, I am afraid they found someone who passes the loyalty test," he said.