Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reports Pamela Bondi nomination, 12-10

At a Senate Judiciary Committee markup, Chairman Chuck Grassley said the committee voted 12-10 to favorably report Pamela Joe Bondi’s nomination to serve as attorney general to the full Senate. The committee held an extended debate about Bondi’s record as Florida attorney general, her private-sector lobbying, and whether she would act independently of the White House if confirmed.

The vote came after opening remarks and more than five hours of prior testimony in a confirmation hearing. Committee Republicans emphasized Bondi’s experience as a prosecutor and as Florida’s attorney general, citing her work on human trafficking, opioid “pill mill” enforcement and consumer-protection litigation. “She spent 18 years serving as a prosecutor,” Chairman Grassley said, and witnesses who appeared at the hearing, he said, described her as “willing to tackle and to solve some of the…