The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general on Feb. 4, 2025. The Senate voted 54-46 in favor of her nomination with one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and all 53 Republicans voting in favor. This was the eleventh member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term.
Trump announced on Nov. 21, 2024, that he had selected Bondi as his nominee for U.S. attorney general. Bondi was Trump’s second nominee for the position, after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration on Nov. 21, 2024. Trump said of Bondi’s nomination, “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!” The Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing for Bondi on Jan. 15-16, 2025, and voted 12-10 to advance her nomination.
Bondi was born in Tampa, Florida, in 1965. She graduated from King High School in 1983. In 1987, she received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Florida. She graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 1990. After law school, Bondi worked as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office for 18 years. Bondi was first elected Florida attorney general in 2010, and was re-elected in 2014. After serving as Florida’s attorney general, Bondi worked at Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm. In 2020, Bondi was named to Trump’s legal defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial. Ahead of her nomination for U.S. attorney general, Bondi worked at the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization founded by former advisors to Donald Trump (R).
Looking just at the main 15 Cabinet secretaries who are in the line of presidential succession, and excluding other Cabinet-level positions, Bondi was the ninth of the main Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, four of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.
At this point in the Biden administration, five of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, 12 of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.
A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.
During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.