The Freedom From Religion Foundation calls on the U.S. Senate to reject Pam Bondi as attorney general and instead select a candidate who demonstrates a clear commitment to secular governance and the equal treatment of all Americans under the law.
Bondi has demonstrated a commitment instead to pursuing a conservative Christian and political agenda over protecting the rights of the people. At Wednesday’s confirmation hearings, the election denier, who served as President-elect Donald Trump’s personal secretary during his first impeachment trial, refused to rule out probes of Trump’s foes, among other disturbing responses.
As Florida attorney general, she opposed legal equality for same-sex couples and sought to curtail women’s reproductive rights. She also supported weakening the separation of church and state by advocating for a proposed constitutional amendment that would strip language in the state Constitution barring public funds to be spent “in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.” Wise voters fortunately rejected the proposed amendment aimed at funding religious schools.
After finishing her term as Florida’s attorney general, Bondi became a corporate lawyer and also joined the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to promoting policies aligned with Trump’s agenda and funded in part by Tim Dunn, the billionaire Christian nationalist pastor seeking to destroy public education, privatize public schools and create a theocracy.
As part of the Institute, Bondi filed a lawsuit on behalf of 36 U.S. Air Force members against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense for their refusal to grant religious exemptions from the Covid-19 vaccine mandate. She co-authored a Daily Caller op-ed with Trump spiritual “adviser” Paula White supporting coach Joe Kennedy’s imposition of prayer on the Bremerton High School football team. She filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of America First Policy Institute that falsely painted Kennedy’s postgame team prayer as “individual religious expression,” a lie adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court majority in its ruling.
Christian nationalist Sen. Josh Hawley, who opened his questioning at Wednesday’s confirmation hearing by falsely claiming that the Biden administration has been attacking religious Americans, asked her a series of leading questions.
“Under your leadership, will you put a stop to the use of FBI or Department of Justice resources to try and recruit informants or spies into Christian churches or any church or house of worship in this country on the basis of nothing more than faith?” he queried.
“Of course, senator,” Bondi replied.
“Will you protect churches and pregnancy care centers when they are targeted for violence when they are targeted for intimidation, when … parishioners are threatened with violence or other acts of illegal behavior?
“Yes, senator.”
“Will you stop the disparate treatment of Americans on the basis of religious faith?” and “stop the deliberate persecution of pro-life Americans for nothing more than their pro-life beliefs?”
“Yes, senator,” she said in response to both questions.
Our government should act as a shield for individuals from religious discrimination rather than as a vehicle for religious privilege. Bondi’s nomination threatens to entangle government with religion in ways that compromise our nation’s founding principles.
“Americans deserve an attorney general who will respect the boundaries between church and state and uphold the rights and freedoms of all citizens — free from religious or political interference,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Pam Bondi’s record demonstrates a troubling disregard for this vital constitutional mandate.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 40,000 members, working to promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
