Trump picks his ex-impeachment defense lawyer to replace Gaetz as AG nominee

Hours after his pick for attorney general removed himself from consideration, Donald Trump announced his replacement pick on Truth Social: former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

"I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States," wrote Trump. "Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families. Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!"

"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore," Trump continued. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!"

Trump did not mention in his announcement that Bondi also served as one of his defense attorneys during his first impeachment trial, where he was accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in his effort to try to extort Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into announcing an "investigation" of Joe Biden's family.

Bondi also faced controversy for shutting down a state probe of Trump University, which authorities said falsely claimed to offer education, but actually sought to upsell students to more expensive programs. Bondi's decision came around the same time a political group linked to her accepted a $25,000 campaign donation from the Trump Foundation.

She also worked for a lobbyist for Qatar at the same time she was representing Trump's defense, according to the book, "The Big Cheat"by David Cay Johnston

Trump's original pick for attorney general was former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, but this nomination quickly went off the rails amid a House Ethics Committee report, still as of now unreleased, into allegations he engaged in child sex trafficking and illicit drug use.