Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference outside former President Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Imagesetty)
"As a career prosecutor, Attorney General Bondi will be ready from the first day on the job to fight on behalf of the American people to reduce crime, tackle the opioid crisis, back the women and men in blue, and restore credibility to the Department of Justice," they wrote in the letter sent to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
The letter praised Bondi's work as Florida's attorney general, where she led an aggressive crackdown on opioid drugs and the many "pill mills" operating in the state when she took office. They also praised what they described as Bondi's "national reputation" for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.
Officials also emphasized Bondi's other achievements in Florida, where she secured consumer protection victories and economic relief on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State. After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, the letter said — and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi's lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief.
The letter also stressed Bondi's commitment to the rule of law, and what the former officials touted as her track record of working across the aisle during the more than two decades she spent as a prosecutor.
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Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, arrives to speak during the Republican National Convention at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Some of us have worked directly with Attorney General Bondi during her time in office and can personally attest to her integrity and devotion to the rule of law," they wrote. "Many more of us know and admire her well-earned reputation from her long and accomplished career in government service in Florida, her litigation and advocacy on the national stage, and her demonstrated courage as a lawyer."
"As former DOJ officials, we know firsthand the challenges she will face as Attorney General, and we also know she is up to the job."
Those close to Bondi have praised her long record as a prosecutor, and her staunch loyalty to the president-elect, alongside whom she has worked since 2020—first, helping to represent him in his first impeachment trial, and, more recently, in her post as co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) a think tank set up by former Trump staffers.
She also served in Trump's first presidential term as a member of his Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission.
Bondi's former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington—this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.
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"We firmly believe the Justice Department and the Nation will benefit from Attorney General Bondi’s leadership," the DOJ officials said in conclusion, adding: "We urge you in the strongest manner possible to confirm her as the next Attorney General of the United States."
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/more-than-100-former-justice-dept-officials-urge-senate-confirm-pam-bondi-ag