Pam Bondi likely won’t be confirmed as Attorney General before February. Here’s why

The Senate may have to wait until the first week of February to confirm Pam Bondi as Attorney General.

A Senate Judiciary Committee meeting was canceled Wednesday after the Democratic Minority Office placed a hold on Bondi’s confirmation. That’s a common legislative tactic on the committee to delay votes on nominations, but can only stave off meetings for a week.

Democrats will likely continue to review Bondi’s background in the meantime, but another meeting is expected to take place Jan. 29.

At that point, the committee is expected to recommend Bondi’s confirmation in a floor vote. Republicans hold a Senate majority and Republicans outnumber Democrats on the committee, 12 to 10.

No Republican Senators have publicly leveled criticism at Bondi, a different response than was directed at President Donald Trump’s first pick for the job, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Ultimately, Gaetz withdrew from consideration early in the confirmation process.

Democrats have challenged Bondi, whom Trump nominated in November. In a confirmation hearing last week, Democrats questioned the former Florida Attorney General on potential conflicts of interest from her lobbying career, potential loyalty to Trump over the Constitution, and most pointedly, her representation of Trump when he challenged the outcome of the 2020 election.

The Majority Office for the Committee notably issued a point-by-point counter of those critiques with quotes from Bondi in the hearing.

All this points to a likely positive recommendation from the committee when Bondi’s nomination heads to the floor. But Democrats again can stall the process. A day after a committee vote, Majority Leader John Thune can bring her confirmation to the floor, but must negotiate an agreement with Democrats on time for debate.

That likely means any floor vote will be delayed until Feb. 4 or 5, according to officials close to the process. At that point, both sides will debate Bondi’s pros and cons.

The process is not unusual, officials said, and is a likely model that many of Trump’s nominations will follow. That’s different from the glide path enjoyed by fellow Floridian Marco Rubio, who was a member of the Senate until his unanimous confirmation this week as Secretary of State.

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