Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general Pam Bondi promised on the first day of her confirmation hearing that she would remove politics from the Justice Department, although her refusal to answer key questions about Trump’s 2020 election loss and his expressed desire for retaliation raised concerns about that , how she would carry out her promise.

As her hearing continues into its second day on Thursday, Bondi is expected to sail through confirmation and assume the role of the country’s top law enforcement official, tasked with carrying out Trump’s longstanding desire to reshape the Justice Department, which has resulted in two criminal prosecutions against him before his election.

“The partisanship, the armament will be gone. “In America there will be a uniform level of justice for all,” Bondi said, promising: “There will never be an enemies list in the Justice Department.”

While Bondi tried to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee of her independence from Trump and her desire to usher in a “new golden age” of the DOJ, she declined to say that Trump lost the 2020 election and defended her previous position Statements that “prosecutors will be prosecuted” and the openness to investigating special counsel Jack Smith sparked skepticism among Democratic members of the committee.

If confirmed, Bondi would lead the Justice Department with recently expanded powers after the Supreme Court ruled last year that interactions between a president and the attorney general were immune from prosecution.

“The fear and concern we have is that the new president will use this loaded weapon, this immunity, to commit crimes through the Justice Department,” said Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.

Here are five key takeaways from day one of Bondi’s confirmation hearing:

Bondi vowed to keep politics out of law enforcement but is keeping the door open for investigations into Jack Smith

Bondi accused President Joe Biden of coordinating political prosecutions, said she would only bring cases based on “facts and law” and said she had not spoken to the president-elect about launching investigations into Trump’s enemies.

“No one is prosecuted or investigated because they are a political opponent. We have seen that in the last four years of this government. People are prosecuted based on the facts and the law,” Bondi said.

However, when pressed about Trump’s claim that special counsel Jack Smith should go to prison, Bondi declined to answer whether she would open an investigation into Smith before pointing out that his behavior was “horrible.”

“Senator, what I’m hearing on the news is terrible. Do I know if he committed a crime? I haven’t looked at it,” Bondi said, adding that “it would be irresponsible … to make a commitment to anything.”

In his final report released earlier this week, Smith disputed Trump’s accusation that his work was in any way political – calling the accusation “ridiculous” – and assured Attorney General Merrick Garland that his work was consistent with “the rule of law” and DOJ guidelines to political interference.

Bondi declined to answer key questions about Trump’s election denial and his promise to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants

Bondi – who helped Trump spread distrust in the outcome of the 2020 election – notably declined to say that Trump lost the 2020 election, raising concerns among Democratic senators over Trump’s alleged use of the Justice Department to illegally retaining power after his election loss.

“Are you prepared to state under oath and without reservation today that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential contest to Joe Biden?” asked Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

“Joe Biden is the President of the United States. He has been duly sworn in and is the President of the United States. There was a peaceful transfer of power. President Trump left office and was elected overwhelmingly in 2024,” Bondi said. repeated refusal to give a yes or no answer to the question.

Bondi also refused to condemn Trump’s baseless claim that “massive fraud” corrupted the 2020 election. Asked about Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked him to “find” 11,780 votes, Bondi said she didn’t listen to the whole thing but suggested Trump’s comments were taken out of context.

Bondi also declined to comment on Trump’s promise to pardon the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, his first day in office, and did not read the files of all defendants.

“Senator, I have not seen any of these files. Of course, I will look at every single file if it is confirmed and I am asked to advise the President. But let me be clear to you: I condemn all violence.” “I am a police officer in this country,” Bondi replied.

Bondi avoided answering if she disobeyed an unlawful order from Trump

When Bondi was pressed by Democratic Senator Chris Coons to drop a criminal case if someone in the White House asked her to do so, she declined to consider the hypothesis.

“What I can tell you is that if I am confirmed as attorney general, my duty will be to the Constitution and the United States of America, and the most important oath, part of that oath, that I will take is the last one four words: ‘So help me, God.'”

Bondi once responded “Of course” when asked if she would be willing to resign if asked to do something inappropriate.

“Senator, I wouldn’t be working at a law firm, I wouldn’t be a prosecutor, I wouldn’t be the attorney general if someone asked me to do something inappropriate and I felt like I had to do that,” Bondi said.

Schiff, who had several heated exchanges with Bondi, expressed skepticism that she could avoid a confrontation with Trump given his previous attorneys general.

“You may say that you believe conflict will never arise, but every day, week, month and year of the first Trump administration has shown that conflict will occur. Jeff Sessions might not have thought it would happen to him. It came to him. Bill Barr might not have thought it would happen to him. It came to him. It reached everyone,” Schiff said. “It will come to you and what you do in that moment will define your job as attorney general.”

Bondi promised to reform the Justice Department but gave few details about her plans

Bondi told senators that she sought to “restore trust and integrity” in the DOJ after what she called the justice system being used as a weapon against Trump. She promised that if confirmed, she would answer to the American people, not the president.

“My oath would be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The people of America would be my customer,” Bondi said.

While her promise to remove politics from the DOJ was cheered by Senate Republicans, Bondi gave few details about how she would implement her plan across the department’s 115,000 employees. Bondi tried to defend her 2023 statement that “prosecutors will be prosecuted,” telling the committee that she would only bring cases against “bad” prosecutors.

Bondi appears to be close to being confirmed by the Senate as attention turns to Kash Patel

While Senate Democrats have expressed concerns about Bondi’s refusal to acknowledge Trump’s defeat in 2020 and a lack of commitment, her confirmation appears all but certain.

“I can count and read tea leaves. It seems to me very, very, very, very likely that you will be confirmed, and I certainly look forward to working with you and your office,” Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said near the end of the hearing.

After Wednesday’s hearing, some Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee avoided saying exactly how they would vote on Bondi’s confirmation, although Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said “the odds are in their favor.”

“I would say the odds are in their favor with the Senate majority. I don’t know if a single Republican is against her. We’re still going to ask the tough questions today and tomorrow,” Durbin said.

With Bondi unlikely to face a serious challenge to her confirmation, Senate Democrats instead turned their attention to Trump’s pick to head the FBI, Kash Patel. Bondi said she looked forward to working with Patel – she called him the “right person” for the job and defended his qualifications – and dismissed the idea that either she or Patel would keep a list of enemies or run afoul of the law.

“What I can sit here and tell you is that Mr. Patel, if he cooperates with the leadership of the FBI – if he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed, he will follow the law, if I am the Attorney General of the United States “I don’t think he would do anything else,” Bondi said.