Jan. 16 (UPI) — The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a second day of its confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi, on Thursday.
Bondi, the former Florida attorney general and legal adviser to Trump during his first impeachment in 2019, faced nearly six hours of sometimes tense questioning on Wednesday.
The hearing comes into order at 10:15 a.m. EST on Capitol Hill.
Republican senators lauded her experience and dismissed concerns about her relationship with Trump. Democrats were concerned she would not be willing to tell the president-elect “no.”
Democrats pushed Bondi to rebuke her denial of the 2020 election results. She refused, simply repeating, “Joe Biden is the president,” followed by boasting about Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Bondi was also pushed to take a position on FBI director nominee Kash Patel’s comments about arresting political opponents and journalists, and bringing an “enemies list” into the bureau. Bondi said she does not believe there is an enemies list and none would be adopted by the Department of Justice.
If both are confirmed, Patel would serve under Bondi but would still have decision-making authority.
Several Republican senators doubted that Trump or Bondi would pardon violent offenders who participated in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Bondi said she would review each case if asked but condemned any violent attacks against law enforcement officers.
Confirmation hearings have begun in earnest this week with several of the cabinet’s top justice, defense and intelligence nominees appearing before senate panels. Bondi and secretary of defense pick Pete Hegseth have faced the most criticism from the other side of the aisle.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was welcomed more warmly by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
“Senator Rubio, I’m very, very happy that you’re nominated for this position,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said.
