US Senate confirms Trump's nominee Pam Bondi as attorney general

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as the new U.S. attorney general on Tuesday, propelling one of President Donald Trump's staunchest political allies to the top perch of American law enforcement.

The 54-46 vote to confirm of the former Florida state attorney general will help Trump solidify his control over the U.S. Justice Department, which has recently seen sweeping cuts targeting prosecutors and FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by the president's supporters.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Bondi.

Bondi, 59, vowed to maintain the department's independence during a confirmation hearing last month, telling lawmakers she will not inject politics into criminal or civil investigations.

But lawmakers continue to harbor concerns about whether she will resist potentially improper or illegal orders from Trump, after the firings of dozens of prosecutors who pursued criminal charges against him.

After entering office on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order blasting what he called the "weaponizing" of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies and ordered the attorney general to "review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority."

Bondi, who spent decades as a prosecutor, represented Trump during his first impeachment trial. She has also echoed some of his false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

The incoming attorney general holds a stake in Trump's media company, the Trump Media and Technology Group, according to financial disclosures she filed with the Office of Government Ethics.

Bondi was Trump's second pick for the top U.S. law enforcement job. His first choice, former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, resigned from Congress and withdrew his name from consideration just before a House of Representatives ethics report found that he had paid women for sex and drugs and obstructed Congress.

Gaetz so far is the only Trump cabinet nominee to end his bid for the office. Senate committees on Tuesday advanced the nominations of two of Trump's most controversial nominees, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the nation's top health official and Tulsi Gabbard to serve as its top spy.

(Reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis)