Most recently, Bondi helped lead the legal department of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank whose staff worked closely with the Trump campaign to help shape policy for his incoming administration.

Bondi’s resume contrasts with that of Gaetz, who has little of the traditional experience expected of an attorney general and was expected to face opposition from Senate Democrats and some Republicans.

“She’s definitely qualified for the job on paper,” said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida who now works as a defense attorney with Jones Walker.

Bondi’s ties to Trump predate his first election in 2016.

In 2013, the Trump Foundation donated $25,000 to a political action committee supporting Bondi, a potential violation of a federal ban on charities aiding political candidates. At the time, Bondi was considering whether to investigate Trump University, a for-profit teaching business.

When the donation made headlines in 2016, Bondi denied that the $25,000 from Trump had anything to do with her decision not to take action against Trump University, saying her office had released all relevant documents. Trump’s campaign attributed the failure to properly disclose the donation to a “series of unfortunate coincidences and errors.”

Both Trump University and the Trump Foundation were shut down following New York state fraud investigations. Trump agreed to pay a $25 million settlement for defrauding Trump University students and was ordered to pay $2 million in restitution for misusing charitable funds.

Trump has criticized current Justice Department leadership and vowed retaliation after special counsel Jack Smith obtained two indictments against him for his efforts to undermine the 2020 election and for keeping classified documents after he left the White House.

In his role at the America First Policy Institute, Bondi has remained a staunch defender of Trump.

She was part of a group of lawyers who wrote an amicus brief in the classified documents case in support of Trump, which argued that Smith was appointed illegally.

That view was shared by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who dismissed the case, prompting the Justice Department to appeal.

Smith and senior Justice Department officials are now evaluating how to drop both criminal cases against Trump to comply with a longstanding Justice Department policy that prohibits criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

During his first term, Trump was angered by what he called an obstructionist Justice Department, including Attorneys General Jeff Sessions, who allowed an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and Bill Barr, who rejected publicly false claims by Trump that his loss in the 2020 election was the result of fraud.

The broad outlines of Trump’s plans for the Justice Department have been communicated through Trump’s own public statements, as well as statements from Mark Paoletta, a conservative attorney who leads policy planning for the Justice Department, and in interviews and public forums with the department’s former attorneys.

Federal prosecutors will likely be directed to prioritize illegal immigration cases. Cities hoping to receive a share of the department’s $291 million Justice Assistance Program will likely have to agree to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The Civil Rights Division is expected to shift its focus from police accountability to defending religious freedom and filing legal challenges against government and private sector diversity, equity and inclusion programs.