Grassley touts attorney general nominee Pam Bondi as 'well-qualified' for position

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday met with President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and called her as a "well-qualified" candidate to lead the Justice Department.

Trump nominated Bondi, a former Florida GOP attorney general, late last month, after former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the position. Bondi has spent two decades as a prosecutor and served as Florida's attorney general for eight years.

Grassley, who is set to lead the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 119th Congress, claimed that the Justice Department is usually one of the first departments to get in Congress's way during investigations, and urged Bondi to make the department transparent under her watch.

"Bondi is prepared to refocus the Justice Department (DOJ)’s attention where it ought to be: on enforcing the law and protecting Americans’ safety," Grassley said in a statement after the meeting. "It’s time the DOJ prioritize transparency and recommit itself to blind justice, unlike what we’ve seen over the last four years. 

"To achieve this, Bondi will need to show unfailing support for whistleblowers, demonstrate respect for the DOJ Office of Inspector General’s independent oversight and commit to working with Congress to shed light on the Biden administration’s weaponization of the DOJ," he continued. 

Bondi confirmed the meeting in a post on X and said she looked forward to working with the senator during her confirmation process in January. 

The meeting comes ahead of a busy week for Congress. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump appointed to head his new Department of Government Efficiency, are expected to meet Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.