Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, for Attorney General, hours after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew amid opposition from Senate Republicans, who had opposed a series of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The move to name Bondi reflected Trump’s determination to appoint a loyalist as the nation’s top law enforcement official, and marked another example of Trump putting his personal lawyers in the Justice Department.

Trump almost immediately selected Bondi as Gaetz’s replacement, according to people familiar with the matter. Bondi had not auditioned for the role and her loyalist credentials combined with her willingness to defend Trump on television made her an attractive choice.

The fact that Bondi could count on broad support within the Trump world and the Senate Republican conference, unlike Gaetz who always faced an uphill battle, also earned her the support of most of Trump’s senior advisers on Thursday, the people said.

“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for almost 20 years, where she was very tough on violent criminals,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“Pam will refocus the DOJ on its intended purpose: fighting crime and making America safe again. I have known Pam for many years – she is smart, tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter who will do a great job as Attorney General!

Should Bondi be confirmed by the Senate in the coming months, it would be a reward for her years of loyalty to Trump, which began during the 2016 campaign, when she became an outspoken but fierce defender of his candidacy.

She also helped with Trump’s legal defense during his first impeachment trial, repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and continued to work as a surrogate during the 2024 campaign when she attended Trump’s criminal trial in New York.

Bondi’s elevation to head the Justice Department is also said to be the result of extraordinary serendipity, after Trump picked Gaetz almost on a whim after deciding not to use more conventional lawyers.

The selection process for key positions involved Trump picking up each candidate on a row of screens at his Mar-a-Lago club and looking for various qualities, including their perceived loyalty and how they might play on television.

Trump was not happy with the initial list of names, which included Mark Paoletta, the former counsel for the White House Management and Budget Office; Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey; and Robert Guiffra, co-chairman of the New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and decided he preferred a boxer like Gaetz.

But the Gaetz nomination sank after a series of meetings Wednesday with Republican senators. Later that evening, they expressed broadly to the Trump team their continued opposition to the Gaetz nomination, the people said.

On Thursday morning, Trump called Gaetz and told him it was clear he didn’t have the votes in a rare moment of realpolitik for Trump. Gaetz agreed and took himself out of the race, one of the people said.

Gaetz told aides, after announcing he was withdrawing his nomination, that he was faced with the reality that at least three senators – Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – and newly elected Senator John Curtis, would vote against him and cancel his nomination would block, people said. .

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said in a statement: “I greatly appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts in gaining approval to become attorney general. He did a very good job, but at the same time he did not want to be a distraction for the board, for which he has a lot of respect.”