Trump picks Florida’s Pam Bondi for attorney general after Matt Gaetz backs out

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his new pick for U.S. attorney general.

The announcement — made in a post on Trump’s social media site Truth Social — came just hours after the president-elect’s first choice for attorney general, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration for the job.

Gaetz had faced mounting scrutiny over years-old allegations of sex trafficking and drug use that put his confirmation by the U.S. Senate in question.

In announcing Bondi as his new choice to lead the Justice Department, Trump praised the former Florida attorney general as “very tough” on crime, especially when it comes to drug trafficking.

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”