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Pam Bondi sworn in as attorney general in Oval Office

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Pam Bondi was sworn in as attorney general on Wednesday in the Oval Office with President Trump looking on and telling reporters she would be “as impartial as a person can be.”

“I know I’m supposed to say, ‘She’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats.’ And I think she will be as impartial as a person can be,” Trump said during Bondi’s swearing-in ceremony.


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Bondi, Florida’s former top prosecutor, was joined by family members as she was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The conservative justice also presided over the swearing in of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“I am truly honored that you have asked to take on this role, and I will make you proud and I will make this country proud,” Bondi told Trump. “I will restore integrity to the Justice Department, and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world.”

The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Bondi as the top Justice Department official. The vote was 54-46, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joining all Republicans in voting in support of Bondi.

Her nomination faced intense scrutiny from Democrats in particular who expressed concerns over whether she would bow to pressure from the president to go after his political opponents. Trump has in the past suggested former President Biden and other critics should face prosecution, just as he did after being indicted four times in 2023.

Bondi during her confirmation hearing refused to answer a number of questions she dismissed as hypotheticals, sidestepping inquiries about whether she would appoint a special counsel if Trump was accused of doing something illegal.


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Republicans have argued the Justice Department should be depoliticized after Trump was indicted in Washington and Florida by former special counsel Jack Smith in 2023. Neither of those cases went to trial in light of the president’s election victory.

The Justice Department has in recent days fired or reassigned a number of career staff, including dismissing a dozen prosecutors who worked on Smith’s team.