Attorney General Pam Bondi questioned her old friend Matt Gaetz’s suitability for the role before securing the top job at the Justice Department, a new report revealed Monday.
Bondi, formerly Florida’s top prosecutor, has known former Rep. Gaetz since his early political career in Tallahassee. They moved in the same Florida Republican circles, frequently appeared together at political events, and have long been allies. Bondi was even “godmother” to Gaetz’s dog.
Despite their deep ties, Bondi privately declared that Gaetz was an unsuitable choice for attorney general, according to The New Yorker. A Justice Department official, however, denied this.
With Gaetz’s potential nomination dead in the water, Bondi capitalized on President Trump’s long-held favor for her. She had served two terms as Florida’s attorney general, between 2011 and 2019, and was the state’s first major elected official to back Trump for the presidency in 2016.
Her loyalty was repaid when she was confirmed as attorney general in February. And there’s clearly no hard feelings between Bondi and Gaetz, with the latter giving Bondi a glowing review.
“She was like a cult figure with law enforcement. She’s a beautiful blond woman. She took these tough cases, she went to court, and won,” Gaetz told The New Yorker. “And what Pam did was she used the platform of her earned fame to dominate.”
Gaetz, who now flogs personalized videos for cash on Cameo, said she’s “more of a tactician than an ideologue.”
So tactical, in fact, that Trump did not consider anyone else for the attorney general role after Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration, according to people involved in Bondi’s selection.
Trump even admitted that he had made a “dreadful error” in not considering Bondi over Gaetz, who had been accused of child sex trafficking and statutory rape four years earlier, a source told The New Yorker.
“He picked up the phone one morning about seven o’clock and called her and said, ‘I’ve made a dreadful error, and would you consider this?’” a senior administration official told the publication.
Hours after that call, Gaetz withdrew, and Bondi’s nomination was announced. Shortly after that, Gaetz called Bondi and got a job offer, he claims.
Recognizing that it had been a “tough week” for him, she said, “Come work for me,” Gaetz recalled. He opted against it but said, “I thought that was super kind of her.”
