Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said after Wednesday’s hearing on Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s attorney general nominee, that he will vote no for now but that he “wants to be fair.”
Coons appeared on CNN’s “The Source” Wednesday and was asked about questions posed to Bondi earlier in the day. He said Bondi answered the first two questions sufficiently, but the third question called into question whether she could run.
“The third question was, ‘What would you do if you were told to do something illegal or unethical?’” Coons said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to answer that because it’s hypothetical.’”
Coons said Trump should tell Bondi that’s not hypothetical because he could ask Bondi to do so.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked the senator if Bondi’s response meant he would not vote for her confirmation.
“Not right now. But… I’ll go back and review the records,” he replied. “I’m trying to be fair and give her a reasonable opportunity to get my vote, but I’m not satisfied by the end of today’s hearing.”
Bondi came under fire from senators Wednesday as he faces a test to become Trump’s attorney general. She was the second, more traditional choice, after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) withdrew his name from consideration amid scathing reports.
There are concerns among Democrats that whoever Trump chooses to lead the Justice Department will turn it into a department for revenge against the Democratic president-elect’s enemies.
Democrats took time Wednesday to ask Bondi what they see as the biggest problem: whether he will reject Trump’s calls to target his political enemies.
Bondi denounced multiple investigations into Trump as evidence that the Justice Department was weaponized for political gain, but Democrats vowed it never did.
Coons told CNN that ensuring the Justice Department and FBI remain independent is a “key guardrail.” He said the way Bondi had not explicitly answered the third question raised concerns.
“To me, that’s an important question: Will she stand up when the situation calls for it and prove that the independence of the Justice Department is more important than loyalty to a candidate she strongly supported?” Kuhn said.
