Washington, Nov 22 US President-elect Donald Trump moved swiftly to name Pam Bondi, a former Attorney General of Florida, to replace his first pick, former Congressman Matt Gaetz who announced earlier on Thursday that he was withdrawing from consideration as Attorney General.
"I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, the social media site he owns.
"Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families. Then, as Florida's first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term -- We saved many lives!"
Bondi was also a member of Trump's defense team for his first impeachment trial in 2020. She will have to be confirmed by the US Senate to take over a job that President-elect Trump has deemed most crucial to his second term.
Congressman Gaetz's nomination, Trump's first choice -- ran into strong headwinds from the moment of the announcement. Chiefly, it was about having sex with a minor. The Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives had conducted an investigation and was about to submit its report when Gaetz resigned his seat in a bid to prevent the release of the report.
"While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition," Gaetz wrote in a post on X.
"There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump's DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1."
President-elect Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!"
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