Pam Bondi was sworn in Wednesday as attorney general, taking charge of the Justice Department as it braces for upheaval under President Donald Trump's long promised reforms.
The ceremony took place in the Oval Office, and it was the first time the Republican president had participated in a second-term swearing-in of a Cabinet member. It was further evidence of Trump's intense personal interest in the operations of the department that investigated him during his first term and then brought two since-abandoned indictments after he left office in 2021.
Before Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office, Trump praised Bondi's record as a prosecutor and said she will "end the weaponization of federal law enforcement."
Bondi, who was Florida's first female attorney general before becoming a lobbyist, told the president that she would not let him down.
"I will make you proud and I will make this country proud," she said. "I will restore integrity to the Justice Department and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world, and make America safe again," Bondi said.
The Senate confirmed Bondi in a 54-46 vote Tuesday that was almost entirely along party lines. The lone Democrat to join Republicans was Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.
Republicans have highlighted Bondi's record in Florida in taking on human traffickers and opioids. GOP lawmakers she will bring much-needed change to a department they believe unfairly pursued Trump through investigations and mistreated his supporters who were prosecuted in connection with Jan. 6, 2021.
As attorney general Bondi will oversee the FBI, which is in turmoil over the scrutiny of agents involved in Trump-related investigations. FBI agents sued the Tuesday after an extraordinary request from the Justice Department for the names of agents who participated in the investigation into the Jan. 6 riot that led to more than 1,500 criminal cases. Many within the FBI had seen that request as a precursor for mass firings.
Acting Deputy Director Emil Bove later said in a memo to the workforce that FBI agents "who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner" are not at risk of being fired. The only employees who should be concerned, Bove wrote, "are those who aced with corrupt or partisan intent."
Bondi is likely to be one of the most closely scrutinized members of Trump's Cabinet, given her close relationship Trump.
Bondi has sought to reassure Democrats that politics would play no part in her decision-making, but she also refused at her confirmation hearing last month to rule potential investigations into Trump's adversaries. She also has repeated Trump's claims the prosecutions against him amounted to political persecution, telling senators the Justice Department "had been weaponized for years and years and years, and it's got to stop."
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