Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, said she will not use the US Justice Department to target people based on their politics during her hearing on Wednesday.
“There will never be an enemies list within the Justice Department,” she told senators as they repeatedly pressed her on her loyalty to Trump. “I will not politicize that office.”
But Bondi, who would become the nation’s top law enforcement official if confirmed to the role by the Senate, did not outright rule out investigations into those the president-elect has clashed with.
“It would be irresponsible of me to commit to anything,” she said when asked if she would investigate Jack Smith, who led two criminal cases against Trump.
During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly threatened to investigate and potentially prosecute his political enemies.
Bondi, who is likely to be confirmed as the 87th US attorney general given the Republican majority in the House, stressed during the hearing that she will remain independent.
But she echoed Trump’s view that the federal prosecutions against him were political persecution, saying the department “has been weaponized for years and years and years.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said the department had become “infected with political decision-making” and said it had been “weaponized” under the Biden administration, particularly against Trump.
These descriptions were echoed by other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Bondi agreed with their assessment.
Questions from Democratic senators, meanwhile, focused on whether Bondi would say no to the newly elected president.
“The concern is that during your tenure there could be a weaponization of the Justice Department,” Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse told Bondi. “We want to make sure that’s not the case, that you stay independent.”
They also focused some of their questioning on FBI director nominee Kash Patel who, if confirmed, would be a match for Bondi.
The FBI candidate said he has an “enemies list” of people he will pursue if confirmed. Several senators asked Bondi about those comments, but she said she had not heard them and that the Justice Department would not have such a list.
Bondi also told the committee she would consider potential pardons for Capitol insurgents on a “case-by-case basis,” but added that she condemned “any violence against a law enforcement officer in this country.”
The Attorney General serves as the head of the Department of Justice, which enforces federal laws. If confirmed for the role, Bondi would provide legal advice and opinions to the president and executive department heads.
Her confirmation vote has not yet been scheduled, but is expected in the coming days.
Senators on Wednesday also questioned Marco Rubio, who is expected to be confirmed as Trump’s secretary of state.
He warned that Washington must change course to avoid becoming more reliant on China and promised to overhaul US foreign policy to focus on American interests.
