Thought Gaetz was a bad attorney general pick? Get a load of Pam Bondi

Donald Trump has chosen to nominate former Florida Attorney General and Fox News guest host Pam Bondi to serve as his attorney general. Trump made the decision after his first choice, sex trafficking investigation subject Matt Gaetz, decided to drop out.

Bondi fits right in with Trump ideologically. During her time serving in Florida, Bondi focused on attacking the Affordable Care Act, which Trump has long pushed to repeal.

In 2012, she worked with other Republican attorneys general on a lawsuit meant to undo the law, which has extended health care coverage to millions of Americans. Bondi clearly relished her role as the public face of the suit and a 2012 Tampa Bay Times story quoted Bondi asking her team to take photos of her in front of the Supreme Court following a news conference there.

The case failed and the law has remained in place—with coverage expanded by the Biden/Harris administration.

Bondi was also part of a 2018 lawsuit that sought to strike down provisions in the law that require insurance companies to cover people with preexisting conditions. That effort also ultimately failed.

Like so many others in the Trump orbit, Bondi is a frequent part of the rotation of guests and guest hosts on Fox News.

In her appearances on the network the lawyer distinguished herself by referring to Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse as merely a “little boy out there trying to protect his community,” and by calling for schools to follow the post-9/11 airport security model in response to school shootings, as opposed to gun regulation.

Trump enlisted Bondi to argue his case on the Senate floor when he was impeached for using the presidency to solicit political favors from Ukraine, and she was one of the public faces of Trump’s efforts to promote election lies following his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

“We’ve won Pennsylvania,” Bondi claimed at the time—and in a Fox News appearance came up with a story about “fake ballots” purportedly being counted in the state. Trump lost Pennsylvania to Biden by over 80,000 votes.

Trump has frequently said that loyalty is extremely important to him, and Bondi has been an advocate for him for years.

Those ties have also led to the appearance of corruption. In 2016, Trump was forced to pay a penalty to the IRS after it was determined that he had broken tax laws by giving a political contribution to a Bondi-connected nonprofit.

Following that 2013 donation of $25,000 from Trump, Bondi decided not to investigate fraud claims against Trump University in her role as Florida attorney general. Years later, Trump paid out $25 million in settlements to students who said the organization had duped them with promises to impart the “secrets of success” in real estate.

Unlike Gaetz, Bondi may not have any ongoing sex trafficking investigations (that are publicly known at least) but she has proven herself a Trump diehard, which is his top qualification for the most important positions.

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Trump taps Pam Bondi for attorney general after Gaetz withdraws

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.

Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. She's been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore,” Trump said in a social media post. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”

Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. told Fox Business on Sunday that the transition team had backups in mind for his controversial nominees should they fail to get confirmed. The swift selection of Bondi came about six hours after Gaetz withdrew.

Matt Gaetz speaks to media outside the U.S. Capitol on June 11.

Gaetz stepped aside amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer.

That announcement capped a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement.

“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," he added. Hours later, Gaetz posted on social media that he looks “forward to continuing the fight to save our country,” adding, “Just maybe from a different post.”

Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”

Screenshot of Donald Trump’s Truth Social post on Nov. 21 announcing Pam Bondi as his new attorney general nominee.

Last week, Trump named personal lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer to senior roles in the department. Another possible attorney general contender, Matt Whitaker, was announced Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Senate leader vote could indicate troubles ahead for Trump and MAGA

Rick Scott of Florida was ousted from the race for Senate Republican leader on Wednesday, losing on the first ballot of the race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Scott garnered just 13 votes from the 51 Republicans voting in the first round.

His poor performance came even as Scott had the endorsement of MAGA loyalists, including Elon Musk, the freak right-wing billionaire who is acting as a sort of shadow president-elect. And let’s not forget MAGA media personalities like racist 9/11 truther Laura Loomer, Russia apologist Tucker Carlsonbigot and misogynist Charlie Kirk, and plagiarist and Russia's useful idiot Benny Johnson.

“Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!” Musk wrote in a post on X, after Scott endorsed Trump’s demand to allow him to make recess appointments for his administration to bypass the Senate’s advice and consent role.

“Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump,” Carlson wrote in a post on X. “Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott."

"A vote for Rick Scott is a vote to END the anti-Trump rot of Mitch McConnell in the US Senate,” Johnson said on X. “Thune and Cornyn are a continuation of McConnell's total failure."

Those endorsements led Trump supporters to flood the phone lines of Senate Republicans, demanding that GOP senators vote for Scott in the leader race.

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, one of the dumbest senators in history and a Scott supporter, said his office "phone has been ringing off the wall” from MAGA faithful who wanted Scott as leader.

But Scott, who was cocky in the run-up to the vote declaring that he was going to win, couldn't translate that into a victory among Senate Republicans. 

Republicans instead chose Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who currently serves as minority whip.

Thune won on the second ballot over Sen. John Cornyn of Texas by a vote of 29 to 24, Punchbowl News’ John Bresnahan reported.

Of the three men running, Thune has the rockiest relationship with Trump. Thune slammed Trump after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021—though Thune ultimately voted against convicting Trump in the second impeachment trial for inciting insurrection. 

“What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable,” Thune said at the time.

Trump was so angry at him for that remark that Trump called on Thune to face a primary, though he easily beat it back. The Wall Street Journal, however, reported in October that Thune has since been working to mend his relationship with Trump.

MAGA world is already threatening Thune to jump when Trump asks.

Kirk wrote on X: “John Thune is Senate Majority Leader. He has a short window to show us he will support President Trump, fill his cabinet, confirm his judges, and pass his agenda. If he does, we will support him. If he doesn't, we will work to remove him.”

Thune now replaces noxious Kentucky Republican McConnell, who announced in February he was stepping down from his leadership role but not the Senate itself.

McConnell is largely responsible for obliterating norms in Washington. He helped Republicans steal two Supreme Court seats from Democrats as well as a number of other federal judgeships he held vacant when Barack Obama was in office. He also used the filibuster to obstruct at a historic level and squandered the opportunity to rid the country of Trump when he refused to convict him in the Jan. 6 impeachment trial, among other things.

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Trump considers New York Rep Brandon Williams for possible Labor Secretary nomination

Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., is on a short list of contenders being considered for the nomination of Labor Secretary under President-elect Donald Trump's new administration. 

Williams, who represents central New York, was viewed as one of the most vulnerable House Republican incumbents this election cycle because state Democratic leaders redrew his district to make it more favorable to their party. He was defeated by Democratic state Sen. John Mannion last week, but a source close to the president-elect's transition team confirmed to Fox News Digital that Williams is now under consideration to join Trump's Cabinet. 

"Brandon Williams was an exceptional member of congress who jumped into the race two years ago to challenge John Katko after he voted to impeach President Trump," the source told Fox News Digital. "He’s a Navy veteran who served as an officer on a nuclear submarine, is a businessman and tech entrepreneur, was a political outsider, and will advance President Trump’s mission." 

Citing sources, the New York Post was first to report about Williams' consideration for Labor secretary, revealing he is on the "short version of the short list" and high-level conversations were happening on the matter Friday, days after the election. 

WHO COULD RUN TO REPLACE STEFANIK IN THE HOUSE?

Williams serves on three House committees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Science, Space, and Technology; and Education and the Workforce. He is also a member of several caucuses, including the Republican Main Street Caucus, which focuses on "implementing pro-growth policies for small business owners, fostering economic and individual prosperity, and delivering real results for the American people," according to its website.

TRUMP TAPS FORMER NEW YORK REP LEE ZELDIN TO LEAD EPA

Politico had reported on Tuesday that Williams is among names being "floated" for a position in the Trump administration, but the outlet did not specify Tuesday what that executive branch job could be. 

Politico reported two other possible contenders for Labor secretary: Patrick Pizzella, a former U.S. deputy Labor secretary, and Bryan Slater, the state Labor secretary under Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

Trump has already selected two high-profile New Yorkers to join his Cabinet. 

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was elected to a sixth term last week, will be pulled from Congress to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who nearly ousted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in a competitive, but unsuccessful, 2022 bid to run the Empire State, has been campaigning on behalf of Trump and was selected to join the cabinet as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Trump, defying media predictions, mainly picks seasoned Capitol Hill veterans such as Marco Rubio

The media warned for months that Donald Trump would have "no guardrails" in a second term, and would probably hand out top positions to a bunch of right-wing crazies.

Instead, he picked Marco Rubio yesterday as secretary of State, a 14-year Senate veteran and son of Cuban immigrants who has been informally advising him on foreign policy.

MEDIA LIBERALS SAVAGE KAMALA AS TRUMP PICKS EXPERIENCED HARD-LINERS

The president-elect has also tapped a number of Hill veterans who are conventional conservatives, agree with him on key issues and could just as easily have been named by Mitt Romney.

Also yesterday, Trump selected Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, as Homeland Security secretary, after she overcame the dog-shooting incident that knocked her out of the veepstakes.

Trump has been rolling out these appointments at hyper-speed, just a week after the election. He has stayed off TV and hasn’t made any inflammatory posts. He’s trying to demonstrate a seriousness about governing, by hitting the ground running.

In the past, presidents and presidents-elect have appeared on air, praising their nominee or maybe two, and yielding to a short, grateful speech by the chosen ones. But Trump appears to be skipping all that. 

All the top jobs haven’t been filled, obviously, but even some top Democrats are praising the choice of Rubio (while some in the MAGA movement are disappointed). He’s unquestionably a hawk, and will be the face of American foreign policy as he travels around the world. 

Sure, he said some terrible things about Trump, who derided him as Little Marco, when both ran in 2016. I watched Rubio on the trail that year and he’s a very charismatic speaker.

But the two have long since mended fences. Rubio tried to push immigration reform a decade ago as part of various Senate gangs, but has since distanced himself from the effort.

I keep seeing television chyrons that, almost in accusatory fashion, say Trump is hiring "loyalists." Excuse me–do you think that Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton didn’t hire loyalists? Presidents want aides who generally agree with them and won’t turn into troublemakers. Biden hired such longtime advisers as Ron Klain, Mike Donilon and Steve Richetti.

From a conservative point of view, when Biden hired top officials who wanted to strengthen environmental rules, boost labor unions and spend hundreds of billions of dollars to dig out of the pandemic, that was a hard-line departure from Trump 1.0. Now Trump will reverse many Biden policies with the stroke of a pen.

DEPRESSED MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY: HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?

The other picks so far: Upstate New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a member of the House leadership and impeachment defender, has been tapped for U.N. ambassador. 

Trump also chose former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to run the EPA. He’s a mainstream conservative who has crusaded against excessive environmental regulations and gotten a lifetime score of 14 percent from the League of Conservation Voters. He told Fox News that the administration will "roll back regulations" that are causing businesses to "struggle" and are "forcing" them to move overseas.

After that, Trump tapped Florida GOP congressman Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, as White House national security adviser, which doesn’t require Senate confirmation. He’s a China hawk and Ukraine skeptic. "Stopping Russia before it draws NATO and therefore the U.S. into war is the right thing to do," Waltz wrote. "But the burden cannot continue to be solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially while Western Europe gets a pass." 

These are serious people who know how Washington works.

By the way, Trump has shrunk what’s expected to be a very small GOP edge in the House by picking two members. But in Rubio’s case, Gov. Ron DeSantis can appoint a replacement who would serve until the midterm elections.

As I’m typing this, Trump just named Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has led many delegations to the country and is staunchly pro-Israel. 

And after I filed this, Trump named Bill McGinley, who worked on election integrity for the RNC and was general counsel for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as his White House counsel.

And after I filed the insert, another announcement: John Ratcliffe being tapped for CIA director. The former Texas congressman, known for criticizing the FBI as biased against Trump, became his director of national intelligence in 2020. 

Last night, Trump made his first hire from Fox News. Pete Hegseth, an Army combat veteran and co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," has been named Defense secretary. Trump noted that Hegseth did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, was awarded two Bronze Stars, and just published the best-selling "The War on Warriors."

Trump tried to get him confirmed the previous year, but Ratcliffe withdrew after GOP senators and ex-intel officials raised concerns about him, amid media disclosures that he’d embellished his prosecutorial efforts in immigration and terrorism cases. So he certainly qualifies as a highly partisan pick.

The two appointees who can fairly be described as aggressive hard-liners–critics would say extremists–are Stephen Miller and Tom Homan–both hired to deal with Trump’s top priority, the border.

Miller, who spearheaded immigration policy in the first Trump term, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff, and even that title doesn’t capture the clout he’ll have as a trusted member of the inner circle. He pushed the family separation policy that was extremely controversial.

WHY THE MEDIA WAITED TILL NOW TO ADMIT HARRIS RAN A LOUSY CAMPAIGN

Homan, who ran ICE in the first term, is being called the border czar. When asked if there was a way to avoid separating families, as happened last time, he said sure–deport them all together.

He said at a conference over the summer: "Washington Post can do all the stories they want on me about ‘Tom Homan’s deportin’ people, he’s really good at it!’ They ain’t seen s*** yet! Wait till 2025!"

Miller and Homan will be responsible for carrying out mass deportations of the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants living in America, or at least starting the process so the president-elect can say he kept his promise. Critics call the goal utterly unrealistic.

Now there are others who will also enjoy huge influence. Elon Musk, who donated $119 million to help Trump, is now the most powerful private citizen ever–heading a waste commission, posting hundreds of messages on X, sitting in on Trump call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy – all while seeking billions in federal contracts.

Trump said last night that Musk will head a Department of Government Efficiency - he promised to "send shockwaves through the system" - with help from former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. 

RFK Jr. will get some title, but Trump has to decide whether to go along with his hotly disputed ideas on vaccines and removing fluoride from water systems. He’s also threatened to fire FDA officials who have waged a "war on public health," saying the agency has suppressed such products as raw milk, ivermectin and vitamins.

And of course J.D. Vance will be an unusually active vice president and heir apparent.  

Still to come: the top jobs of Treasury secretary and the extraordinarily sensitive post of attorney general. I also want to know who’ll be press secretary!

One reason we’re in for weeks and weeks of skeptical to negative coverage is that every beat reporter on the planet must now do obligatory pieces on Donald Trump.

Whether they cover sports, religion, labor, housing, entertainment, courts, energy, television, schools or crime, they need to write about the impact of the 47th president–keeping in mind that he weighs in on everything.  

From yesterday alone: 

Washington Post: "Trump Pledged to Close the Education Department. What would that mean?"

New York Times: "Trump’s ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Cuts Two Ways for Oil Companies."

And: "Colleges Wonder if They Will Be ‘the Enemy’ Under Trump"

But my personal favorite: "What a Trump Presidency Means for the Liquor Industry."

(Trump doesn’t drink, but every industry wants less regulation.)

There’s also this Drudge headline: "Wife Divorces Husband Over Vote."

As the Mirror reports, "A man has said he can’t believe his wife was ready to ‘throw away our entire life’ after filing for divorce over his vote for Donald Trump.  

The distraught husband wrote on social media that he has been left without words that the marriage could fall apart over politics." 

I guess a family separation policy comes in many forms.

Trump picks former intel director John Ratcliffe to head the CIA

John Ratcliffe, who served as President-elect Trump's principal intelligence advisor during his first presidential term, has been picked to serve as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency during Trump's second term.

Ratcliffe is one of several appointees announced in the past week who will fill key positions during Trump's second term. 

"From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the FBI’s abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public," Trump said in a statement. "When 51 intelligence officials were lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American People."

Trump honored Ratcliffe in 2020 with the National Security Medal, the highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security.

TRUMP'S PICKS SO FAR: HERE'S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT

"I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions," said Trump. "He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH."

Ratcliffe previously served as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), where he oversaw 17 intelligence agencies, in the final months of Trump's first term. 

In that role, Ratcliffe served as the leader of the U.S. intelligence community and principal intelligence advisor to Trump. Before that, he served in Congress for over five years as the Republican U.S. representative for the 4th Congressional District of Texas, where he was a leading policymaker on national security issues and served on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees and as Cybersecurity chairman on the Homeland Security Committee, according to his biography.

Ratcliffe's profile increased in 2019 as he became an ardent defender of Trump during the House's first impeachment proceedings against him. He was a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team and strenuously questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings.

After the Democratic-controlled House voted to impeach Trump, Ratcliffe said: "This is the thinnest, fastest and weakest impeachment our country has ever seen." 

He was also criticized after declassifying Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 presidential race, despite acknowledging that it might not be true. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Trump picks his former director of national intelligence to head CIA

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump announced that he is nominating former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.

A former Republican congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final year and a half of Trump’s first term, leading the U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. He is a more traditional pick for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists pushed by some of Trump's supporters.

As intelligence director, he was criticized by Democrats for declassifying in the final days of the 2020 presidential election Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 race even though he acknowledged it might not be true.

Ratcliffe's visibility rose as he emerged in 2019 as an ardent defender of Trump during the House’s first impeachment proceedings against him. He was a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team and strenuously questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings.

After the Democratic-controlled House voted to impeach Trump, Ratcliffe said: “This is the thinnest, fastest and weakest impeachment our country has ever seen.” He also forcefully questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement. “He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Forget how corrupt Trump’s first presidency was? Watch this

The corruption of Donald Trump’s first administration was so constant that it’s easy to forget every scandal. Thankfully, on Monday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is here to remind us as Trump begins to stock his incoming White House with bigots, sycophants, and even a puppy killer.

"The first Donald Trump presidential term had so many cabinet officials forced out of office in disgrace and referred to the Justice Department to face criminal charges,” Maddow recalled. “It's actually hard to remember them all."

Maddow ran down some of Trump's original Cabinet secretaries:

  • Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke left his position after more than a dozen investigations into dubious dealings and potential ethical violations. (Zinke is now the representative for Montana’s 1st Congressional District.)

  • Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s tenure as the ineffective mouthpiece for Trump’s nonexistent infrastructure bill was filled with reports that she used her position to enrich her family. 

  • Energy Secretary Rick Perry was one of the Trump officials who resigned after Trump’s Ukraine scandal, which led to Trump’s first impeachment.

  • Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned after having given sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein a sweetheart deal. (Trump then dragged his heels in replacing Acosta.)

  • Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price joined Trump’s administration as an ethically challenged secretary, then left office after multiple federal inquiries into his use of taxpayer money to fund extravagant travel.

  • EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, whose ethical integrity matched that of a wet piece of rice paper, left his position because he couldn’t manage the multiple ethics investigations into his activities.

And these were simply Trump’s first round of picks. One of Trump’s last scandal-laden cabinet members, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, is leading Trump's Defense Department transition team. Wilkie’s time in the first Trump administration was marred by claims he orchestrated a smear campaign against a female veteran who alleged she was sexually assaulted at a V.A. facility.

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Who’s who on Trump’s short list for attorney general

President-elect Donald Trump has wasted little time in naming top White House and Cabinet officials to serve in his administration as he prepares to be sworn in for a second term in January.

It remains to be seen, however, who Trump will pick to head up his Justice Department, perhaps one of the most important vacancies to be filled in the next administration. 

Early contenders for the post include sitting U.S. senators, former Justice Department personnel and at least one top White House adviser from Trump's first term.

Though each would bring widely different backgrounds and perspectives to the position, they all share one common trait: loyalty to the president-elect and a willingness to back his agenda and policies over the next four years. 

As the U.S. awaits a formal announcement from the president-elect, here are some of the top names being floated for the role of U.S. attorney general.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LOOKING TO WIND DOWN TRUMP CRIMINAL CASES AHEAD OF INAUGURATION

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah

Sen. Mike Lee, R- Utah, is considered to be a more conventional pick to head up the Justice Department. Lee is a high-ranking Republican in the chamber and would face a somewhat easy path to Senate confirmation, at least compared to some of the more controversial names that have surfaced.

But he may not be gunning for the role.

The Utah Republican told reporters last week that while he has been in frequent conversations with Trump's transition team, he plans to focus his sway in the Republican-majority Senate on helping gin up support for Trump's Cabinet nominees and helping select the Senate majority leader, a leadership election in which Lee, as current chair of the Senate Steering Committee, is poised to a play a major role.

"I have the job I want," Lee told the Deseret News in an interview. "And I look forward to working in the next Congress and with President Trump and his team to implement his agenda and the reform agenda that Republicans have offered and campaigned on, and it’s going to be an exciting time. We’ve got a lot of work to do."

John Ratcliffe

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is among the top names being considered to head up the Justice Department. 

Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor and a former U.S. representative from Texas, earned the spotlight during Trump’s first term for his outspoken criticism of the FBI and of the special counsel investigation overseen by Robert Mueller.

Trump tapped Ratcliffe in 2019 to replace Dan Coates as the Director of National Intelligence. The following year, he was tapped by the outgoing president to be a member of his impeachment team.

Mark Paoletta 

Former White House attorney Mark Paoletta served during Trump’s first term as counsel to then-Vice President Mike Pence and to the Office of Management and Budget.

Paoletta is also already working on the Trump transition team, including helping steer Justice Department policy in the next Trump administration, making him a potentially natural fit for the role.

Paoletta also made clear Monday that if tapped to head up the Justice Department, he would not tolerate any resistance to Trump’s agenda by career prosecutors and other nonpolitical officials.

In a lengthy post on the social media site, X, Paoletta said career employees are "required to implement the President’s plan" after an election, even ones they may consider unethical or illegal. 

"If these career DOJ employees won’t implement President Trump’s program in good faith, they should leave," Paoletta said, noting that employees who engage in so-called "resistance" to Trump’s agenda would be guilty of "subverting American democracy" and subject to "disciplinary measures, including termination."

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is also among the names floated to lead the Department of Justice. Bailey was tapped by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in 2022 to be the state’s top prosecutor after then-state Attorney General Eric Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Since taking over the state AG’s office, Bailey has led dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration and sought to defend the state on a number of conservative issues as well. 

Those familiar with Bailey’s ascent say his lower-profile career could be an asset as a possible U.S. attorney general, especially since the role requires Senate confirmation. He could be aided here by Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, two Missouri Republicans who also served as state attorney general before their Senate service.

Since neither appear to be seeking the role of the top U.S. prosector, they could play a key role in stumping for Bailey in the Senate if his name does come up for consideration.

TRUMP TO APPOINT FORMER ICE DIRECTOR TOM HOMAN AS NEXT ‘BORDER CZAR’: NOBODY BETTER AT POLICING OUR BORDERS'

Matt Whitaker

Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker temporarily led the Justice Department after Trump fired former Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his first term.

Asked last week in a Fox News interview whether he wants the role, Whitaker declined to answer, saying that the decision is Trump's to make. 

"He's going to want someone who he knows, likes and trusts," Whitaker said. "He's going to want someone who was there from the beginning," he added, and who can help defend against what Whitaker described as "all this lawfare nonsense." 

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment as to who remains on its list of candidates to lead the Justice Department.