Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) went viral after attorney general nominee designate Pam Bondi slammed her for being the only senator to refuse a meeting before Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
It is common practice for senators to accept requested courtesy calls from cabinet nominees to build rapport before confirmation hearings.
Bondi slammed Hirono when the senator asked the nominee whether she would investigate a political enemy as attorney general.
“Would you do so?” Hirono framed a hypothetical question.
“Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten time –” Bondi replied before the senator cut her off.
“I am listening to you now. Could you respond to the question?” Hirono curtly replied.
“You were the only one who refused to meet with me, senator. But what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the Attorney General –” Bondi said before Hirono cut her off a second time and scolded:
I’m very happy to listen to your responses under oath. Miss Bondi, so I think it’s really important to us that the Attorney General be independent of the White House, and you have a president-elect, who considers the AGs office his law firm, I would like to know whether, if the president suggests, hints, asks that you, as Attorney General, should investigate one of his perceived enemies?
“Senator, I certainly have not heard the President say that, but what I will tell you is two thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and it’s statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith,” Bondi politicly replied.
“If I am confirmed as Attorney General, it will be my job, not only to keep Americans safe, but restore integrity to that department,” she said:
BUSTED: AG nominee Pam Bondi calls out Mazie Hirono for refusing to talk with her before her confirmation hearing as the Democrat grandstands with leading questions. "You were the only [senator] who refused to meet with me. We would've discussed this." pic.twitter.com/HlBJgGrnym
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 15, 2025
Pundits on social media gave Bondi fabulous reviews during the hearing.
Bondi vowed to restore “one tier of justice for all” after the Justice Department was weaponized against President Joe Biden’s political opponents.
“[I] will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its componentsthe partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all,” she added:
My overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals, and that includes getting back to basics, gangs, drugs, terrorists, cartels, our border and our foreign adversaries. … I believe we are on the cusp of a new golden age where the Department of Justice can and will do better if I am confirmed.
Bondi served as Florida’s first female Attorney General and was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years. Bondi has been a Trump supporter since the beginning of his political career. She served as defense lawyer for Trump in his first impeachment trial and as co-chair of Women for Trump during the 2020 election. She most recently supported Trump in May at his New York criminal business records trial.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
