Pam Bondi Tells Democrats She Won't Be 'Bullied' by Them as She Fends Off Onslaughts from Them During Confirmation Hearing

"Senator, I'm here to answer your questions, I'm not here to do your homework and study for you," Bondi jabbed as Padilla repeated his question.

Pam Bondi, the nominee for U.S. Attorney General, fended off an onslaught of questions from California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, with both questioning her ties to President-elect Donald Trump.

Padilla, 51, was the first to question Bondi, 59, focusing on her visit to Philadelphia after the 2020 election where she appeared at a press conference with Rudy Giuliani and declared, "We've won Pennsylvania." Padilla pressed her directly, asking, "Do you have any evidence of election fraud or irregularities in the 2020 election?" Bondi, who served as Florida's attorney general from 2011 to 2019, began her response by saying, "I traveled to Pennsylvania..."

Bondi Defends Every Question

Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi during ehr confirmation hearing X

Padilla repeatedly interrupted Bondi as she tried to complete her response, reminding her of the oath she had taken during her tenure as Florida's attorney general. The senator's persistent questioning eventually led Bondi to push back.

"You pointed your finger at me and said you were speaking. Let me answer your question. I'm not going to be bullied by you, Senator Padilla," Bondi snapped back. "I guess you didn't want to hear my answer about Pennsylvania."

Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi X

The California Democrat brought up the topic of birthright citizenship and questioned Bondi about the 14th Amendment, which prompted another sharp response from the U.S. attorney general nominee.

"Senator, I'm here to answer your questions, I'm not here to do your homework and study for you," Bondi jabbed as Padilla repeated his question.

"Hey, you cut me off — can I please finish," she added before answering that the "14th Amendment — we all know — addresses birthright citizenship."

Earlier in the confirmation hearing, Bondi assured senators that she recognizes President Biden as the current commander-in-chief, a topic that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have often emphasized.

However, one of the more intense exchanges came during her interaction with Schiff, 64, who served as the lead impeachment manager in Trump's first impeachment trial.

Adam Schiff
Adam Schiff X

"My first set of questions has to do whether you have the independence to say no, when you must say no," Schiff began, before asking if Bondi would refuse a request to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith.

"Senator, I haven't seen the file. I haven't seen the investigation. I haven't looked at anything. It would be irresponsible of me to make a commitment," Bondi replied.

Not Getting Cornered

Schiff, a prominent critic of Trump during his first term, pressed Bondi further, suggesting she appeared "reluctant to answer a simple question." He then asked whether there was any factual basis to justify an investigation into former Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi X

"No one has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney," she said. "We're all so worried about Liz Cheney, senator. You know what we should be worried about? The crime rate in California right now is through the roof."

"Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average — that's what I want to focus on, senator."

The newly elected senator dismissed the remark and pressed Bondi on whether she had the "intestinal fortitude" to tell Trump that he lost the 2020 election. Bondi brushed it off, calling it a "gotcha" question.

"Senator, what I can tell you is I will never play politics. You're trying to engage me in a gotcha," she countered through crosstalk. "I won't play politics with any ongoing investigation like you did leaking your colleague Devon Nunes' memo."

In 2018, while serving as the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Schiff pushed back against a memo from former Chairman Devin Nunes, which accused the Justice Department, FBI, and former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of being heavily biased.

During his exchange with Bondi, Schiff later focused on whether she would counsel Trump on his decision to potentially pardon numerous people involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi X

"You were censured by Congress, senator, for comments just like this that are so reckless," Bondi said.

In 2023, Schiff was censured by the GOP-controlled House for his handling of the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Trump during his first term.

Following additional questioning from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who exceeded his allotted time by a minute, Bondi jokingly suggested that the extra minute be deducted from Schiff's second round of questioning later in the confirmation hearing.

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