Senate Confirms Pam Bondi as AG

The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as US attorney general Tuesday evening, putting a longtime ally of President Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the president. The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with only Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, joining with all Republicans to pass her confirmation 54-46, reports the AP.

• Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and corporate lobbyist, is expected to oversee a radical reshaping of the department that has been the target of Trump's ire over the criminal cases it brought against him . She enters with the FBI, which she will oversee, in turmoil over the scrutiny of agents involved in investigations related to the president, who has made clear his desire to seek revenge on his perceived adversaries.

• Republicans have praised Bondi as a highly qualified leader they contend will bring much-needed change to a department they believe unfairly pursued Trump through investigations resulting in two indictments.
• "Pam Bondi has promised to get the department back to its core mission: prosecuting crime and protecting Americans from threats to their safety and their freedoms," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
• While Bondi has sought to reassure Democrats that politics would play no part in her decision-making, she also refused at her confirmation hearing last month to rule out potential investigations into Trump's adversaries.
• Trump nominated Bondi for attorney general after it became clear that his initial pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, could not win enough support from Republican senators to be confirmed.

(More Pam Bondi stories.)