Pam Bondi

**Pamela Jo Bondi** (born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Since 2025, she has been serving as the 87th United States attorney general. She was the 37th Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019, being the first woman elected to the office.

In November 2024, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced Bondi to be attorney general after former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration. She was confirmed in a 54–46 Senate vote on February 4, 2025, and sworn in the next day.

## Early life

Bondi was born in Tampa, Florida. She grew up in nearby Temple Terrace.

Bondi graduated from the University of Florida in 1987 with a degree in criminal justice. She earned a Juris Doctor from Stetson Law School in 1990.

## Florida Attorney General (2011–2019)

Bondi ran for Florida Attorney General in the 2010 election. She ran against former state representative Holly Benson and lieutenant governor Jeff Kottkamp in the Republican primary. She won the primary with 37.89% of the vote. In the general election, she ran against Democratic nominee Dan Gelber. She won the election with 54% of the vote and became state's first female Attorney General.

Bondi was the lead attorney general in an unsuccessful lawsuit wanting to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In 2018, Bondi joined with 19 other Republican-led states in a lawsuit to overturn the ACA's bans on health insurance companies charging people with medical conditions that got sick before they had insurance. Bondi was against same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights.

In August 2018, while still serving as Florida Attorney General, Bondi co-hosted _The Five_ on Fox News three days in a row.

Bondi was re-elected in November 2014, receiving 55% of the vote.

### Support of Donald Trump

In 2016, a supporter of Donald Trump, Bondi gave a speech at the Republican National Convention, during which she started the "Lock her up" chants meant at the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

### First Trump impeachment

In November 2019, she was hired by the first Trump administration to help the White House during Trump's first impeachment trial. Her role on the impeachment defense team was to "attack the process" of the impeachment inquiry. On January 17, 2020, Bondi was named as part of Trump's defense team for the Senate impeachment trial.

### 2020 presidential election claims

Bondi spoke in support of Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention. While votes were being counted in the 2020 United States presidential election, Bondi supported Trump's claims that there was voter fraud in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

On November 5, 2020, host Steve Doocy asked Bondi to show evidence for her claims of fraud, to which she refused. Bondi later claimed that Trump had won Pennsylvania, despite votes there still being counted.

During the final months of his presidency, Trump appointed Bondi to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

### Nomination

On November 13, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate then-U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as United States attorney general for his second administration. However Gaetz's nomination became controversial after sexual abuse and sex trafficking accusations. A week later on November 21, Gaetz withdrew his nomination.

Hours after Gaetz withdrew his nomination, President-elect Trump nominated Bondi to serve as Attorney General.

Bondi had two hearing dates before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on January 15 and January 16, 2025. During her hearing, some issues about her lobbying career with special interest groups and foreign governments were raised. On January 29, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination in a 12–10 vote, with all Democrats voting against her nomination. On February 3, the United States Senate advanced her nomination for a full vote after voting to limit debate on her nomination by a 52 to 46 vote. She was confirmed in a 54–46 Senate vote on February 4, 2025. The only Democratic Senator who voted "aye" was Senator John Fetterman.

### Tenure

Bondi was sworn-in by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on February 5, 2025 at the White House. That same day, she made orders for the Justice Department to help President Trump's mass deportation efforts, to help states secure and execute the death penalty and to stop funding sanctuary cities.

In July 2025, the Department of Justice and the FBI wrote a memo saying there was no evidence that a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients existed. Earlier that year, Bondi had said that she had the list and that she was reviewing it. Some Trump supporters criticized the contradiction.

## Personal life

Bondi married Garret Barnes in 1990; however the couple divorced after 22 months of marriage. In 1996, Bondi married Scott Fitzgerald. They divorced in 2002. She was engaged to Greg Henderson in 2012. Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with John Wakefield.

## Other websites

- Pam Bondi for Attorney General (Campaign website - not found on 1/31/2019)

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Pam Bondi
- **image**: File:Pam Bondi official portrait.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2025
- **order**: 87th
- **office**: United States Attorney General
- **president**: Donald Trump
- **term start**: February 5, 2025
- **predecessor**: Merrick Garland
- **order1**: 37th Florida Attorney General
- **governor1**: Rick Scott
- **term start1**: January 4, 2011
- **term end1**: January 8, 2019
- **predecessor1**: Bill McCollum
- **successor1**: Ashley Moody
- **birth name**: Pamela Jo Bondi
- **birth place**: Tampa, Florida, U.S.
- **party**: Republican Party (United States), Republican (since 2000)
- **otherparty**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic (until 2000)
- **partner**: John Wakefield (2017–⁠present)
- **signature**: Bondi sig.svg
- **1namedata**: Todd Blanche
- **1blankname**: United States Deputy Attorney General, Deputy