Former Republican Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono for refusing to meet with her before her confirmation hearing to become U.S. Attorney General.
Bondi, who President-elect Trump tapped to head the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), turned the tables on Hirono after she asked Bondi if she would prosecute Trump’s political opponents.
“Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to … you could have gotten to know me,” Bondi responded before Hirono interrupted her.
“I’m listening to you now,” Hirono interjected. “Would you respond to the question?”
“You were the only one who refused to meet with me, Senator,” Bondi revealed, before adding that “what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the attorney general to follow the law.”
“I’m very happy to listen to your responses under oath,” Hirono again butted in.
NEW: Pam Bondi calls out Dem Senator Mazie Hirono to her face in a fiery exchange.
HIRONO: “I ask you this. If President-Elect Trump asks, suggests, or hints that you, as Attorney General, should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?”
BONDI:… pic.twitter.com/AOUCY822Ud
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 15, 2025
The revelation that Hirono refused to meet with Bondi flies in the face of political norms. As part of the Senate’s “advise and consent” role, Senators typically meet with and hear from cabinet appointees ahead of their hearings. (RELATED: Mazie Hirono Asks Pam Bondi If She Ever Made ‘Unwanted’ Sexual Advances On Someone)
Hirono tweeted about how important the process was in 2018 while the Senate debated the Supreme Court appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“The Senate’s advice and consent process to evaluate Supreme Court nominees is a job interview, not a criminal trial. There is no entitlement to a seat on the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh’s character, credibility, and candor matter,” she wrote.
The Senate’s advice and consent process to evaluate Supreme Court nominees is a job interview, not a criminal trial. There is no entitlement to a seat on the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh’s character, credibility, and candor matter. pic.twitter.com/UZ77LKmPHv
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) September 28, 2018
Hirono is one of nine Senate Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee which hosted Bondi’s hearing. Other Democratic Senators on the committee who presumably met with Bondi included harsh Trump critics like California’s Adam Schiff and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar.
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman previously criticized Democrats for freaking out over Trump’s nominations. He told CNN’s Manu Raju that it shouldn’t have been controversial to meet with Secretary of Defense pick Pete Hegseth or any other nominees. “I think it’s an opportunity to have a conversation and I’m not sure why it would be controversial to anybody,” he said.
Hirono criticized Republicans in 2018 for setting aside “all rules and norms” during Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, going so far as to walk out of his confirmation process, alongside then-Democratic California Senator Kamala Harris.
“This Committee and the Republicans have tossed out all rules and norms to push Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court. We will not be part of this sham,” she wrote on Twitter.
This morning, @SenKamalaHarris and I walked out of the Judiciary Committee markup on Brett Kavanaugh. This Committee and the Republicans have tossed out all rules and norms to push Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court. We will not be part of this sham. pic.twitter.com/F1coQbXrwd
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) September 28, 2018
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