STORY: U.S. Senate confirms Pam Bondi as attorney general
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 4, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 5, 2025
LENGTH: 00:00:19
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of U.S. Senate voting on the confirmation

STORYLINE:

U.S. Senate on Tuesday evening voted mostly along party lines to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general, head of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The upper chamber approved the nomination by vote of 54-46, with only one Democratic Senator joined Republicans in supporting Bondi.

In late November, then-President-elect Donald Trump chose Bondi, former attorney general of the state of Florida from 2011 to 2019, as the next U.S. attorney general, replacing Matt Gaetz, who recused himself from consideration due to a lack of support.

During her tenure in Florida, Bondi advocated to repeal the Affordable Care Act, supported restrictions on abortion, and fought against certain LGBTQ+ rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to American Oversight.

She was a member of Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020, representing him during the proceedings in the Senate.

According to earlier media reports, the DOJ had fired officials who were involved in investigating Trump. These DOJ employees had been involved in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation over Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, as well as his handling of classified documents.

ABC News reported that the Justice Department is firing "over a dozen" officials who were part of Smith's investigation teams.

Trump has long accused the Joe Biden administration's Justice Department of weaponizing the government, and has vowed to seek retribution during his campaign.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)