Durbin Votes Against Pam Bondi To Be Attorney General

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against President Trump’s pick to be Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi. The Senate voted to confirm her nomination by a vote of 54-46.
“Given the massive upheaval that President Trump has caused at the Justice Department in just his first few days in office—including purging dozens of senior career law enforcement officials at DOJ and FBI and the potentially unlawful targeting of thousands more—the next Attorney General will have her work cut out forher. As I said during Ms. Bondi’s hearing, it is absolutely critical that any nominee for Attorney General be committed first and foremost to the Constitution and the American people—not the President and his political agenda. Unfortunately, I am unconvinced that Ms. Bondi shares my belief. She is one of four personal lawyers of President Trump that he has already selected for top positions at the Department of Justice, has echoed President Trump’s calls for exacting revenge on his political opponents, and has undermined our democracy by joining in President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“In light of the Trump Administration’s actions over the course of the past week, the question of whether Ms. Bondi will be able to tell the President ‘no’ is even more critical. I did not receive a satisfactory answer from Ms. Bondi during her confirmation hearing. Since Watergate, there has been bipartisan support for the idea that the Justice Department must be independent from the White House. President Trump’s conduct during his first term underscored the need for this independence. I do not believe that Ms. Bondi will provide it. Today I voted ‘no’ on her nomination.”
To view Durbin’s questions to Ms. Bondi in her confirmation hearing, clickhereandhere.
Yesterday, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats inlettersto Ms. Bondi; nominee to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel; nominee to be Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche; as well as the Acting Attorney General, James McHenry; and Acting FBI Director, Brian Driscoll, about the removal or reassignment across DOJ and FBI of career law enforcement officials. Last week, the Trump Administration reportedly purged dozens of DOJ and FBI officials involved in prosecuting Donald Trump and the January 6 rioters and is now threatening additional action against thousands of employees across the country who worked on investigations related to the attack on the Capitol.
Durbin also outlined concerns regarding her nomination in aspeechon the Senate floor yesterday.
-30-