In opening pitch to Congress, Pam Bondi promises “a level of justice for all”

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, plans to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that “partisan weaponization of the Justice Department will end” if she is confirmed as Attorney General, according to her opening statement obtained exclusively by CBS News.

“America must have one level of justice for all,” the former Florida attorney general will vow.

The statement comes as Democrats are expected to pepper the president-elect’s close allies with questions about whether she can weaponize the Justice Department to target Trump’s political enemies, including President Biden and former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

The longtime prosecutor, who represented the president-elect during her first impeachment trial says her “overarching goal” is to “return the Justice Department to its core mission,” vowing to get the department “back to basics — prosecuting violent crime and gang activity, stopping child predators and drug traffickers, that protects our nation from terrorists and other foreign threats and addresses the overwhelming crisis at the border.”

As he seeks the job of the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Bondi also plans to take aim at the Bureau of Prisons, vowing to reduce recidivism and reform the federal agency long plagued by understaffing, abuse, decay.

“We need to fix the Bureau of Prisons and follow through on the promise of the First Step Act by building new halfway houses,” Bondi’s prepared remarks read, referring to the president-elect’s signature criminal justice reform law. Signed by then President Trump in 2018aims to reduce prison terms and federal spending but has been plagued by persistent implementation failures.

“The agency has suffered from years of mismanagement, lack of funding and low morale. Federal correctional officers serve in challenging conditions with minimal pay and need more support. Our prison system can and will do better,” Bondi plans to tell lawmakers Wednesday. .

Echoing the president-elect’s promise of a “new golden age,” Bondi is set to tell a panel of lawmakers that Trump is “not afraid to do things that have been deemed ‘too hard'” and to reach across the aisle” to address criminal justice reform.

Trump selected Bondi to be his nominee for U.S. Attorney General after his first election, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi previously made history in 2010 when she became the first woman to serve as Florida attorney general and became an early advocate for Trump during his first bid for the White House in 2016.

Having read about her early days as an “intern at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office,” Bondi will focus on her 18 years of experience as a prosecutor and two terms as Florida attorney general, which she will argue were defined by a fight to eliminate drug dealers in a state “overwhelmed by pill mills and opioid deaths.” While serving as Florida’s top cop, Bondi established a prescription drug monitoring program that requires opioid prescribing clinics to register with the state and have a physician owner.

“On the civil side, we worked to protect consumers,” Bondi plans to say, highlighting her efforts to tackle “overreach from big tech companies.”

If confirmed as attorney general, Bondi will inherit a series of legal battles against the world’s largest technology companies, including ongoing legal proceedings with TikTok and the department’s ongoing defense of a law that would force its parent company to sell the platform entirely.

In the weeks leading up to her confirmation hearing, Bondi walked the halls of Capitol Hill and attended back-to-back meetings with senators. Unlike Trump’s Gaetz, she is not expected to face significant obstacles to confirmation by the Republican-led Senate.

Considered one of the less controversial choices for the Trumps new cabinetDemocrats are likely to still probe Bondi about her interpretation of the role of attorney general and commitment to the Justice Department’s independence.

Ahead of the hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who met with Bondi last week, accused Trump of using the Justice Department as his personal law firm and expressed concern that she might prioritize loyalty to Trump over the hearing. Constitution.

“The Department of Justice must also return to defending the fundamental rights of all Americans, including freedom of speech, the free exercise of religion and the right to bear arms,” ​​Bondi plans to say in remarks to the campaign name-checking committee. slogan for the president-elect. “This is what the American people expect and deserve from the Department. If confirmed, I will do whatever it takes to make America safe again.”

The court hearing is set to take place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Melissa Quinn and Robert Legare contributed to this report.