NEW YORK (AP) — Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, has been chosen by Donald Trump to serve as Attorney General of the United States hours after his top pick, Matt Gaetz, withdrew after a federal sex trafficking investigation and ethics probe made his ability to be confirmed doubtful.

The 59-year-old has long been in Trump’s orbit and had her name floated during his first term as a potential candidate for the nation’s top law enforcement job. Trump announced his intention to nominate Bondi in a social media post on Thursday.

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Bondi would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s cabinet given the Republican’s position. threat of prosecution against perceived adversaries and Democrats’ concern that he will seek to bend the Justice Department to his will.

Here are some things to know about Bondi:

She has long been an integral part of Trump’s world

Bondi has been a long-standing and early ally. In March 2016, on the eve of the Republican primary in Florida, Bondi endorsed Trump at a rally, preferring him over his own state’s candidate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

She gained national attention with appearances on Fox News as a Trump defender and had a notable speaking slot at the 2016 Republican National Convention when Trump emerged as the party’s surprise nominee. During the remarks, some in the crowd began chanting “Lock her up” about Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Bondi responded by saying: “‘Lock her up’, I love it.”

As Trump prepared to move into the White House, she served on his first transition team.

When Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, was ousted in 2018, Bondi’s name was floated as a possible candidate for the job. Trump said at the time that he would “love” for Bondi to join the administration. He ultimately chose William Barr instead.

She remained in Trump’s orbit thereafter, including after he left office. She served as president of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank created by former members of the Trump administration to lay the groundwork if he won a second term.

She was Florida’s first female attorney general

Bondi made history in 2010 when she was elected Florida’s first female attorney general. Although the Tampa native spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State’s Attorney’s Office, she was a political unknown when she held the top law enforcement job in the state.

Bondi was elevated in the primary after being endorsed by former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

She campaigned on a message of using the state’s highest legal office robustly, challenging then-President Barack Obama’s health care law. She also called on her state to pass Arizona’s “show me your papers” immigration law, which sparked a national debate.

As Florida’s top prosecutor, Bondi highlighted human trafficking issues and urged strengthening the state’s laws against traffickers. She held this position from 2011 to 2019.

She has worked as a lobbyist for American and foreign clients

Bondi worked as a lobbyist for Ballard Partners, the powerful Florida-based firm where Trump campaign chief and new chief of staff Susie Wiles was a partner. Its U.S. clients include General Motors, the commissioner of Major League Baseball and a Christian anti-human trafficking advocacy group.

She also lobbied for a Kuwaiti company, according to Justice Department foreign agent filings and Congressional lobbying documents. She registered as a foreign agent for the government of Qatar; his work was linked to anti-human trafficking efforts leading up to the World Cup, hosted in 2022.

Bondi also represented KGL Investment Company KSCC, a Kuwaiti company also known as KGLI, lobbying the White House, National Security Council, State Department and Congress on policy issues. immigration, human rights and economic sanctions.

She defended Trump during his first impeachment trial

Bondi stepped away from lobbying to serve on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.

He was accused – but not convicted – of abuse of power for allegedly pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate his Democratic rivals while crucial U.S. security aid was being withheld. He was also charged with obstruction of Congress for obstructing investigative efforts.

Trump wanted Ukraine’s president to publicly commit to investigating Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. He pushed for an investigation while hiding nearly $400 million in military aid.

Bondi was hired to strengthen White House messaging and communications. Trump and his allies sought delegitimize impeachment from the beginning, with the aim of dismissing the whole thing as a farce.

She criticized the criminal prosecution of Trump

Bondi sharply criticized the criminal prosecution of Trump as well as Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who indicted Trump in two federal cases. In a radio appearance, she blasted Smith and other prosecutors who accused Trump of “horrible” people, who she said were trying to make a name for themselves by “going after Donald Trump and militarizing our justice system.”

Bondi is unlikely to be confirmed in time to overlap with Smith, who has filed two federal indictments against Trump. both of which are expected to end before the new president takes office. Special advocates are supposed to produce reports on their work that are historically made public, but it remains unclear when such a document might be released.

Bondi was also part of a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump during his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 counts.

As president, Trump demanded investigations of political opponents like Hillary Clinton and sought to use the Justice Department’s law enforcement powers to advance his own interests, including attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. Bondi seems likely to oblige.

She would inherit a Justice Department that is expected to lean heavily toward civil rights, corporate enforcement and the prosecution of hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot from the United States – defendants that Trump has pledged to pardon.

She had some of her own political problems

Bondi issued a public apology in 2013 while she was attorney general after trying to delay the execution of a convicted killer because it conflicted with fundraising for her re-election campaign.

The attorney general, who represents the state in death row appeals, generally remains available at the execution date of cases in case of last-minute legal issues.

Bondi later said she was wrong and was sorry for asking then-Gov. Rick Scott postpones the execution of Marshall Lee Gore for three weeks.

Bondi personally solicited political contribution in 2013 of Trump as his office debated whether to join New York in pursuing fraud allegations involving Trump University.

Asset write a check for $25,000 to a political committee supporting Bondi from his family’s charitable foundation, in violation of legal prohibitions against charities supporting partisan political activities. After the check arrived, Bondi’s office backed away from suing Trump’s company for fraud, citing insufficient grounds to sue.

Trump and Bondi have denied wrongdoing. state ethics commission dismissed the complaints and a prosecutor appointed by then-GOP Gov. Rick Scott determined there was insufficient evidence to support corruption charges on the donation.

“It’s discredited old news,” said Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Trump’s transition.

Two days before he was sworn in as president in January 2017, Trump paid $25 million to settle three lawsuits alleging that Trump University defrauded its students.

Trump also paid a $2,500 fine to the IRS on the illegal political donation to support Bondi from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, of which he was forced to dissolve amid an investigation by New York State.

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Long reported in Washington. Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.

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