The News
US President-elect Donald Trump’s new pick for US attorney general, Pam Bondi, worked as a lobbyist on behalf of the government of Qatar.
Trump nominated Bondi, Florida’s first female attorney general, to head the Justice Department, shortly after his first choice, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew amid increasing scrutiny over allegations of sexual assault and drug use.
In July 2019, Bondi, a partner in the DC office of the powerful lobbying group Ballard Partners, was registered through the firm to influence Capitol Hill on human trafficking issues on behalf of the Gulf state for a fee of $115,000 per month.
She ended her role at Ballard in November 2019 to help defend Trump during his first impeachment trial and later returned to restart her lobbying contracts, according to public documents surfaced by The New York Times’ Ken Vogel.