Gaetz out; Bondi in
House member Matt Gaetz was a controversial AG nominee from the start, and there was plenty of speculation that he wasn’t nominated with the intent of his actually being confirmed. At any rate, he’s withdrawn his name, saying:
While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.
Trump wasted no time in nominating a replacement, Pam Bondi, who was Florida’s AG for eight years. She also was one of Trump’s lawyers in his first impeachment case which went to a trial in the Senate, and is a loyal supporter. She’s a more conventional choice in terms of her job history, but one I am pretty sure would also be a tough cookie in the post of AG.
Sounds like a good pick to me.
[ADDENDUM: I see a lot of hysterics about Bondi’s appointment at other blogs from people saying she appointed Corey, the prosecutor in the Zimmermann case, and is therefore some sort of viper. It actually was Rick Scott who made the appointment, although I would guess that Bondi concurred. That was a long time ago and a lot has happened since then with both Scott and Bondi, Trump, and for that matter all of us.
Wonder how they’re gonna try to smear her (since it’s one of the things they do best…)
O/T
Casey concedes. Finally.
(How much did THAT all cost?)
“Democrat Sen. Bob Casey finally concedes Pa. race to GOP’s Dave McCormick, weeks after it was called“—
Alan Dershowitz, who worked with Bondi on the first impeachment of Trump said that she is an outstanding lawyer and will make a great AG.
Yeah, Bondi was involved with the Zimmermann case enough that I haven’t like her.
However, seems she know CoS Susie Wiles, and stu just said Alan Dershowitz recommends her.
I’ll look into it more, but a Dershowitz rec is about as good as it gets. Other than the Zimmermann case I don’t recall anything bad…
I haven’t been able to find much about her involvement with the Zimmerman case, which I suspect was minimal. I am seeing the following show up as rather lame efforts to smear her: She refused to act against Trump University (with allegations that never went anywhere trying to connect the decision with a campaign donation); and she was involved in a custody battle over a lost dog that she had taken in. Yawn.
Bonding looks like a solid pick and doesn’t appear to be a DC insider. But you know that the dems will be clutching pearls about her. I hope she’s a bulldog!
Sundance is highly miffed about Bondi.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/21/pam-bondi/#more-266531
Glenn Reynolds looking up and down at Angela Corey’s history said it appeared she has a vendetta against people who defend themselves with guns. She also employed Bernardo de la Rionda. Jerilyn Merritt said at the time that in nearly 40 years of practicing criminal defense law she had never encountered a prosecutor as unprofessional as de la Rionda. It’s readily conceivable that Scott had no idea what a crapster Corey was, but Bondi should have been more clued-in.
Well, if Sundance dislikes her then I assume she’s ok … because he’s a nut.
I’m glad that he found someone else and, if a Swamp Dweller, at least a Floridian one, and that might be enough of a difference. It will be interesting to see on what ground Senate Republicans decided Bondi isn’t a good choice either, if they go that route. I hope they don’t, I’d rather see them reform themselves…
But Trump is not going to win anything by compromising. He will never be able to compromise enough to suit his enemies. If he and De Santis have a joint press conference announcing Gaetz’s appointment to the Senate, of course, that would be way better than getting Gaetz to AG, and would definitely teach the Swamp a lesson.
There’s a concept they used to talk about in business, the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; you can walk away from any negotiation that doesn’t promise better than your BATNA, and if Gaetz in the Senate is the BATNA then it was pretty stupid for the Senate Republican leadership to oppose Gaetz.
Telemachus:
Exactly. Although I wouldn’t say he’s a nut. It’s just that he gets his audience by this sort of outrage at Republicans who aren’t just right, in his opinion – he’s the blogger who was very very anti-DeSantis back when DeSantis decided to enter the race for the nomination. I think for the most part it’s destructive.
Dax:
See my comment above this one.
Niketas, that would be an interesting trade. epic. But I can’t imagine DeSantis picking Gaetz.
Might not be good for Trump’s relations with the Senate. Unfortunately the Senate still has a lot to say on how successful he will be.
Conservatives probably need to temper their enthusiasm and the reality of how much the swamp will be bent.
For the conservatives to maintain Congress in 2026, Trump needs to make impressive gains with the economy/energy and the border. I don’t think dismantling the DOJ is going to win an election in the short term.
@Brian E:But I can’t imagine DeSantis picking Gaetz.
Honestly I can’t either.
Might not be good for Trump’s relations with the Senate.
Lol. It would be De Santis’s doing, not Trump’s… Trump had made them a better offer, and they themselves turned it down….
I don’t think dismantling the DOJ is going to win an election in the short term.
Failing to change things at DOJ will prevent Trump from getting anything done.
Trump of course doesn’t face re-election. The GOP in the Senate and House do though, and continuing to obstruct what the people voted for is not going to help them get re-elected.
It’s a necessity for the long term, and as you sort-of suggest, there’s no guarantee that Trump will have a stronger hand after the mid terms. Getting as much done as possible before then is therefore needed, and that means putting people in place to supervise what must be done in each area.
Heck, control of DoJ is necessary if you want to deal with the border, and it helps with the economy, too.
Didn’t Musk post that if Gaetz wasn’t confirmed, he (Musk) would put him to work going over the FEC filings of the saboteurs?
Bondi can still achieve the Trump administration goals of de-politicizing the DOJ, even if it does happen without all the drama.
It all makes wonder the extent to which Trump & Gaetz or other nominees are really informed & on the same page.
I think Trump is very motivated to make a splash & a statement about his determination. It was all a bit more than Gaetz bargained for.
Pam Bondi. That’s fine by me, but… Again, I think Trump is sticking the knife in & twisting.
My recollections of her & the left’s reaction to her stem from the 2000 election & the hanging chads in Florida. She was Sec. of State & had influence over that sh_t show. The left hated her for it & it inspired Soros’ “Secretary of State” election manipulation project.
We are living in “interesting times.”
I think there will be plenty of drama with Bondi as the nominee. Either before or after confirmation, or both.
She was Sec. of State
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That was Katherine Harris, the lady who put on her make-up with a trowel. She’s not a lawyer. She left public office at the end of 2006 and (best I can tell) retired about ten years ago.
Brian E on November 21, 2024 at 10:58 pm said:
“… Unfortunately the Senate still has a lot to say on how successful he will be.”
and that is because of the checking and balancing in the Constitution.
Don’t we still want that?
We are laboring under a 150 year span of petty and perfidious Progressivism, augmented with 50 or so years of Leftist communism, so correcting that might take more than two or four years. Good to have Vance in reserve or in sequence, perhaps, but still …
We have elected our weak and feckless congresses over the decades, even if partly because so many voters have sucumbed to a purposeful program of indoctrination.
Yes to civil service reform, and to an accountable unitary presidency, … but not a king or a court fool just entertaining us?
R2L, Your goals of civil service reform and an accountable unitary president are fine, but the Trump administration needs to make good on some of his campaign promises– securing the border, bringing down prices, growing the economy naturally so we can reduce the size of the government.
And if the American people don’t see results, they will “throw the rascals out”– as they did in 2018.
Not all Republicans share these goals. Some want to see illegal immigration continue– maybe not at the levels the last four years, but sufficient to provide a cheap labor market.
Some want to retain the illusion of free trade since that benefits certain sectors.
Some want to retain a bloated government, because that profits them personally.
I’m curious if you have other goals for the administration besides the ones you stated.
Also according to Sundance (who does seem always ready to get his knickers in a twist) Bondi was a lobbyist for Qatar from 2019-20–or longer?— for $115,000 a month. Is this legit? Former lobbyist as attorney general isn’t the best look…
Kimberley Strassel has a piece on Gatez at the WSJ. I don’t think she’s a fan of him.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-lessons-of-matt-gaetzs-withdrawal-cabinet-attorney-general-nominee-justice-department-d85138f5?st=FWbRhJ
Most conservative commentators think Bondi will be easily confirmed and ready to go from Day 1. Hope so.
Somehow I can’t imagine DeSantis putting Gaetz in the Senate. Gaetz doesn’t work well with others.
Mat Gaetz was a horrible choice who should never have been considered in the first place.
Mat Gaetz was a horrible choice
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No history as an executive. He was a lawyer in a common-and-garden practice in Fort Walton Beach for about eight years. Not the right preparation to run a department, IMO. He has a certain cunning. My impression is that no one respects him because he’s somewhat juvenile and wears his sociopathy on his sleeve. The Democratic equivalent is Eric Swallwell.
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You have to run the Democratic operatives out of the department.
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There’s much else to do to reduce the scandal quotient in federal law enforcement, of course. One reason I loathe Congress is that the scandals run on and on for generations and nothing is done. They spin their wheels, strike attitudes, and take bribes.
I’m a bit concerned Bondi has become too much of a swamp creature…and that she is involved in lobbying for too many Muslim governments….
I don’t have any problems with Bondi, but Andy McCarthy brings up a very good point over at NR. Trump has now appointed his current or past personal lawyers to the top four positions at the DOJ.
In the event that there is a criminal investigation of Trump, there are likely to be good legal arguments that all of Trump’s political appointees should be recused from handling the matter. And this isn’t a matter of “they need to be brave enough to stand up to the deep state.” It’s a matter of, “if they try to participate as prosecutors in matter related to their previous representation of the defendant, they will be disqualified by the court and probably subject to disciplinary action from their state bar.” Result – there’s a pretty good chance that any criminal investigation of Trump will be handled by DOJ career staff. And the obvious career-preserving move for DOJ staff is to appoint a special prosecutor. (Heh – If you like your Rod Rosenstein, you can keep your Rod Rosenstein.)
All three of Trump’s appointees for deputy AG are currently representing him in criminal matters. Bondi represented him during the Ukraine impeachment, but I don’t believe she did during the J6 impeachment. So maybe the risk isn’t as high for her. I guess we’ll see. The obvious deep state move here is for Jack Smith to have a change of heart about wrapping up his operation. Now there is a non-zero chance that none of the top four lawyers at the DOJ are going to be able to fire him.
Lovely. This is the sort of thing that the Gaetz critics from the right were talking about. “He/She Fights” is woefully insufficient at the DOJ. It is absolutely necessary to have people who know how to play the game and are able to play without having one hand tied behind their backs.
That said, I wish Bondi the best. Her job and success in it is vitally important.
ah now i know why it went up, i fixed it and it got stuck
same old censorship…
i wasted too much time again..
The saying goes: “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
This humorous adage suggests that attempting to do the impossible—like teaching a pig to sing—is both unproductive and frustrating for all involved. It’s often used metaphorically to advise against investing time and energy into futile efforts, particularly when dealing with people or situations unlikely to change.
Gaetz is a typical “look-at-me” congressman; he’s all show and not much go.
Someone more cunning and methodical is needed to overhaul the Department of Justice.
Someone more cunning and methodical is needed to overhaul the Department of Justice.
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Well that, but there are so many other problems: in the substantive criminal law, in the rules of criminal procedure, in the division of labor between U.S. Attorneys and federal investigatory services. The portfolio of functions in the Department of Justice does not have an analogue in state or local government and the distribution of functions between Justice, Homeland Security, and other departments suggests congressional barons and self-involved cabinet secretaries insisting on keeping this or that piece of turf.
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That aside, the rules for recruitment, promotion, and dismissal of federal employees are wretched. This injures all components of the federal government. Apart from that, crucial agencies are laden with Democratic operatives.
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Bauxite, 8:34 a.m.: Why do you anticipate there being criminal investigations of Trump in his second term?
McCarthy’s two-step is to defend some establishmentarian project for about a year, then to discover he’d been had.
he investigated the j6 black hole prisons, along with mtg greene, he called attention to wray’s coverup of the lesuo deal of biden, among other elements
that the apparat would rely on a character as loathsome of joel greenberg, as they did with william Allen, re prosecutions in Alaska tells you everything
the doj doesn’t deserve deference, it has corrupted its mission by bending to the will of the progs, from a hack like reno to holder to Garland,
on our putative side from ashcroft to sessions they are too easy marks for deep state games, don’t get me started on william barr, whitaker was the only good one, probably since meese, thats about 35 years,
they sent a pack of jackals on him, the ftc and co, until Trump relented, the number of actual whistleblowers has been pitifully small,
they are willing to burn their long time agents, to cover the tracks of the corrupted first son,
Don’t even get me started on the special prosecutor tango, that seems to operate with the never pay caveat for anyone to the right,
yes Mccarthy is always the last one to see the circus, until the next one,
a long strange ride,
https://x.com/SeekerOTL/status/1859965475343810678
with more players than a rian johnson whodunnit
among them, the Russian oligarch who employed Steele, his
retainer who worked for DOJ, the FBI agent, given up for dead to the Iranians, the DOJ looks through this pile of ordure and finds a pony, the House Ethics Committee finds some one to ride it, the corporate press takes a picture
Kate – Why do I anticipate there being criminal investigations of Trump in the next four years? In short, because it happened before, and it worked for Democrats. They tied up the first 2+ years of Trump’s first term with investigations.
Why wouldn’t Democrats try again? It’s not as if Trump is going to stop doing and saying outrageous things that can be spun as potential crimes. Then the game begins. Trump needs people who can either shut those investigations down or, better yet, keep them from being opened in the first place. Basically, people who can do what Jeff Sessions couldn’t and what Bill Barr did. Can Bondi? I hope so, but not if she’s conflicted out and you have career staff making the decisions. The easiest decision for career staff is to punt and appoint a Special Counsel. No DOJ career attorney wants to go into the next Democratic administration with a reputation as the prosecutor who “exonerated” Donald Trump.
Also, there are multiple federal criminal investigations of Trump in progress right now. Jack Smith is making noises as though he’s going to close up shop and dismiss his cases, but that hasn’t happened yet.
because the American people have said in no certain terms, basta ya, four years of carp, that the mouthbreathers at MSNBC would buy,
yes I remember the zimmerman case, I wrote about the legal subterfuge that he was subject to, because of ben Crump and company, much like the Daniel Penny case, it was an abject lesson, don’t get in the way of the criminals the race baiters,
even when he prevailed in court, he became a pariah, the Courts denied him redress for the media malpractice that NBC and ABC engaged in, it was a template for what would go on for the next 8 years leading up to the beatification of St, Floyd,
was she naive on that point perhaps,
Sunny Hostin started in her cavalcade of error in that era,
Dershowitz was one of the few legal minds that challenged this narrative if memory serves,
https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/dershowitz-zimmerman-trayvon-martin/2013/07/12/id/514847/
maybe roy black was another, but those who removed doubt were legion in this affair,
the least Jack Smith deserves is to be pelted with rotten fruit, the most disbarment and inprisonment, what he’ll get will be something in the middle,
Telemachus and Neo,
Re Sundance, even if he is a nut (which I think he is, to some extent), that doesn’t mean that he is always wrong. I haven’t decided yet what I think about the selection of Bondi.
What struck me about Sundance’s post was that this is the strongest criticism of Trump’s actions I’ve ever seen him make. I have commented on his website that he is a Trump sycophant.
Hmmm. That was quick.
Speculation that the Gaetz nomination was a way to do something else will run rampant.
Brian E at 1:19am: “… if you have other goals for the administration besides the ones you stated.”
I have no problem with the agenda/ criteria you mentioned as well, especially securing the border and finding a valid and successful way to deport as many illegal immigrants as possible. Getting the excessive government regulatory burden off of business so they can grow is merited. Cleaning out the DOJ/FBI/ et al. is also needed but as others have suggested, this might be tricky if some of the key Trump admin players have to recuse themselves.
I am also ambivalent about the role of tariffs vs. free/managed trade and “commerce” as we do it now (and have often done it starting at our founding). But trade with our CCP and related enemies is a tangle we should remove ourselves from.
For me the core need is to address our debt/deficit bankruptcy in an honest way; and little has been heard from Trump on this except not disturbing SS and Medicare. Such “disturbance” for some cohorts has to be part of the “chapter 11” solution. We will not “grow” our way out of this, although I have seen write ups suggesting a tweak to SS COLAs, or some such can do that. In 2012 Paul Ryan said he and Romney would provide the “leadership” to manage the bugeting, debt, etc. But when push came to shove, they wiffed out, not wanting to even explain the need to modify our cherished “tax expenditures” such as the tax free employer health insurance benefits or mortgage interest deductions, etc. Fiddling with taxes is needed but the real “solution” involves significant cuts in spending – which the sovereign people of our nation have not yet come to understand or believe is necessary. [The Tea Party was a start, but instead of “taxed enough already” it should have been focused on “trim entitlements already”.]
Bottom line I was stressing is simply that we do not want to destroy the “village” / Constitution to save the “village” Constitution.
R2L, my concern is with so much to accomplish, some/enough senate republicans are going to be reluctant partners to Trump’s more controversial agenda items and he’ll be back to governing by executive orders.
I agree about SS and Medicare, and Trump could give the Congress the courage, but he can’t do that until the last two years. Right now we need a jolt to the economy by increasing energy production at warp speed.
Then begin weaning the economy off the absurd government spending. I was listening to a liberal economist and though he said the economy was doing fine– we’ll enter a debt spiral in 4 to 10 years. I don’t think that’s fine.
Everyone has made an issue of the pass through of tariffs– but corporate income taxes are a pass through. You had made an interesting comment about eliminating corporate income tax, which could be replaced by tariffs at least in essential industries. I haven’t done the math.
I was shocked when I saw that China’s steel production exceeds 1 billion metric tons, while the US produces 80 million tons. I think India was second with 140 million tons. We need to bring back as much manufacturing as possible.
While we may or may not be able to grow our way out of it, we need to get gdp growth back to 3% or more.
I think we need to prepare for the global trading system to break down. I know that sounds apocalyptic, but rather than fight China militarily, we can constraint them by reducing/eliminating trade with them until they start playing by western norms.
I see China is making inroads in South America, much like they’ve been doing in Africa.