The Senate has confirmed Pam Bondi to serve as President Trump’s attorney general.

Bondi secured the nomination in a 54-46 vote.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the lone Democrat to vote with all Republicans.

From The New York Times:

The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as attorney general on Tuesday evening, a swift ascension to become the nation’s top law enforcement official at a time when President Trump has already begun to reshape the Justice Department he has bitterly denounced.

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Ms. Bondi, 59, spent years as a prosecutor in Florida, eventually rising to become its attorney general. More recently, she has been a high-profile surrogate for Mr. Trump, casting doubt on the results of the 2020 election, criticizing prosecutors in other jurisdictions who charged him with crimes and defending him at his first impeachment, over whether he had improperly withheld military aid to Ukraine.

She takes the reins at the Justice Department as the president has tossed vague accusations of criminal wrongdoing against his political rivals, and out-of-power Democrats warn that the attorney general may enable abuses of power.

The Justice Department has already begun making sweeping personnel changes in the career ranks — reassigning or dismissing scores of prosecutors, including those involved in the investigations into Mr. Trump.

Per CBS News:

During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Bondi said she would “not politicize” the department and said “justice will be administered evenhandedly throughout this country.”

“If confirmed, I will work to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components,” she said. “Under my watch, the partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.”

In the days since Mr. Trump began his second term in office, the Senate has been working to confirm his Cabinet picks. The GOP-led upper chamber installed the top members of his national security team first and now is moving to approve the remaining nominees who will lead federal departments.

Bondi’s nomination was first approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 12-10 party-line vote before it was considered by the upper chamber.

As attorney general, Bondi will oversee a sprawling department that includes numerous law enforcement components, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Both agencies have often been the target of attacks by Mr. Trump. The president selected another staunch defender, Kash Patel, to lead the FBI.

 

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