Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Donald Trump’s pick to replace nominee Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration earlier Thursday.
Bondi was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, and became elected as Florida’s first female attorney general.
Trump said that Bondi “worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!”
Bondi was one of Trump’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.
Trump took aim at the Department of Justice for being weaponized against conservatives.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!” he wrote.
President-elect Donald Trump has begun assembling his cabinet posthaste after a smashing victory. His choices are sending shockwaves throughout the political swamp and beyond.
From Elon Musk to Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s picks have been just the right people for the job and, as Democrat Sen. John Fetterman put it, “God-tier kind of trolling.” However, there is one glaring omission from Team Trump 2.0.
When Trump first announced his outsider bid for the White House, he was met with skepticism. Conservatives, in particular, questioned his intentions, positions, and chances. He was looked at as a sideshow at best and, at worst, someone who would peel away support from Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Enter the Mama Grizzly.
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin helped put Cruz over the top in his initial U.S. Senate race in Texas when she endorsed the little-known Tea Partier in 2012. Because of that relationship, many expected Palin to back Cruz for president in 2016. Instead, the only GOP woman to ever appear on a national ticket went rogue and stumped for Trump. While Palin’s bold move was met with some resistance in the GOP, those who could think outside of the box gave Palin’s nod to Trump some deep thought. Most conservatives concluded that if Palin says Trump is OK, maybe Trump is indeed OK. Other endorsements would follow. The rest is history. He steamrolled through the 2016 primaries and then toppled Hillary Clinton to win the presidency in one of the most shocking political results in history. Trump, an outsider, beat a bunch of D.C. insiders, thanks largely in part to Palin, the ultimate outsider.
Trump did not, however, include Palin in his first cabinet and team of ambassadors afterward. Curious, to say the least, considering Trump spoke very highly of Palin while he was campaigning. During an interview on The Palin Update on Mama Grizzly Radio, he even addressed the idea of having Palin in his administration directly.
“One of the reasons I have such respect for Sarah–first of all, she is a great person,” Trump said. “One of the things I admire so much about her is that she took so much nonsense, lies and disgusting lies–she handles it so well. She’s tough, and smart and a great woman.”
Trump said he’d pick Palin’s brain and perhaps consider her for an official position in his administration. “I’d love that,” he said. “She really is somebody that knows what’s happening.”
Though Palin was never brought on board, her support and love for Trump did not waver. Unlike the rest who have been on-again, off-again Trump backers, Palin has never backed down. She has been a steadfast ally through it all.
When she ran for Congress in 2022, Trump backed her and spoke on her behalf at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska. The compliments toward each other continued to flow. There has been zero public animosity between these two. Yet Palin is still shut out.
Shunning Palin is nothing new. Not unlike Trump, many have a hard time sharing a stage with her. Just like Trump, Palin is honest and keeps her promises. That isn’t always appreciated, especially when it comes to the establishment types. Palin and Trump are wildly popular. They both get things done. They both serve for the right reasons. Palin is authentic, so she frightens the weak. Certainly, she doesn’t frighten an alpha like Donald Trump, right?
Republican beta boys like Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and the rest of them have not only been anti-Trump over the years, they’ve also been anti-Palin. That’s about as good an endorsement as you can get. So, why isn’t Palin getting that call from Trump?
The first Trump presidency was a good one. Heck, we could even afford groceries back then. There were no new wars, gas prices were low, and girls played sports against other girls. The one major negative of the Trump years, however, was the association with slimy politicians like Mike Pence and John Bolton. But those days are gone now.
The reasons for bringing in Sarah Palin are numerous. Her talents and background are vast and versatile. Energy Secretary and Secretary of Interior seemed like perfect fits. Those two positions, however, have already been offered to Chris Wright and Doug Burgum, respectively. Disappointing. Yet, Palin could still be given something, right? Ambassador to Canada or another country would be in her wheelhouse. A Palin comeback story would complete Trump’s comeback story.
So, why should Trump tab Palin for a position? Here’s a breakdown:
Sarah Palin is capable: Palin’s successes have truly been remarkable. She has shined as a governor, a mayor, a councilor, a chairwoman, a TV host, a mother, and a grandmother. Trump’s agenda is strengthened with a strong woman like Sarah Palin in the mix.
Sarah Palin is the ultimate patriot: She loves our country. She understands that America is exceptional because of liberty. She respects our flag and our founders. She is a constitutionalist. Trump can rest easy knowing a patriot like Palin would always make decisions with the country’s best interests in mind.
Sarah Palin is loyal: She has never, ever wavered. When Palin is in your corner, you have the best behind you. Whether it’s personal relationships or political partnerships, Palin can always be counted on. After years of fighting off turncoats and phonies, Trump could use a real one like Palin in his proverbial foxhole.
Trump said he would: It doesn’t get more basic than this. Trump won this past election largely because he is a man of his word. Promises made, promises kept. Trump has continuously kept his word unapologetically. Trump said he would love to have Palin alongside him. Just do it.
It’s in the interest of the country: People feeling a sense of relief and happiness right now are in that state of mind because they genuinely believe that Trump will do what is right for them, the God-fearing, law-abiding Americans. Palin would only enhance that endeavor.
They share a kinship: No two people in the history of U.S. politics have been mercilessly, relentlessly, and viciously attacked like Trump and Palin. Trump knows that he was done wrong by so many. He stayed the course and returned to prominence. Now, he can have a hand in getting Palin vindicated for all she and her family have endured.
Woke heads would explode: This isn’t why you make an appointment or a decision. Clearly, a president must select the right people for the right jobs. This is the best of both worlds. Palin is the perfect person for America. That’s the cake. The fact that the ladies of The View and their ilk would go bananas over any sort of Palin appointment is the very, very sweet icing on top.
Most of Trump’s appointments and picks thus far offer reason for optimism. But none are Palin, who was MAGA before it was cool.
Trump and Palin are the two most trustworthy and honest politicians of our generation. They are more powerful together. It’s MAGA time. Make Alaska’s Grizzly Ambassador. Or something, at least.
Kevin Scholla is an accomplished writer, announcer, host, and coach. He has been featured on CBS, ABC, Breitbart News, The Hockey Writers, and numerous other outlets. Follow him on X at @kevinscholla.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from consideration for U.S. Attorney General, he wrote in a social media post on X.
Gaetz said he had “excellent meetings” with senators on Wednesday, but it became “clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” Gaetz wrote.
“Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America,” he said.
The firebrand’s nomination was being derailed by unfounded accusations made by the legacy media and women who all of a sudden had history with Gaetz.
The Judiciary to the People: “Obey OUR Rules, Even Though We Don’t Obey Yours.”
This is the attitude of the Alaskan judiciary, and unfortunately they are unchecked in their power grabbing.
Just WHO is sovereign in this state? Judges? Elected officials? Governors? Well, let’s take a look at the state constitution, the one many of us personally think needs remedying and clarifying. Nevertheless, we can sign onto this one:
Article 1, Sec. 2 is pretty clear: “All political power is inherent in the people. All government originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the people as a whole.”
So, now that the repeal of ranked-choice voting has been rejected, by an infinitesimal margin, bought and paid for by professional liars in the Lower 48 and even outside of the U.S., through an interminably drawn-out and suspicious process, an outcome that was eroded in silent, non-transparent counting, we are to meekly accept it, shut up and live with it?
But we got ranked-choice voting in the first place, in 2020, by blatant, partisan cheating, abetted and concocted by the immensely corrupt judiciary. They want nothing to do with the state constitution. Too many times to count, it has been explained to readers the many nefarious ways the courts have overthrown the legislative and executive branches’ tools that were meant to check them.
The people’s elected representatives passed a law that reflected the same clear-cut mandate imposed upon the legislature in Article 2, Sec. 13, which states, “Every bill shall be confined to one subject unless it is an appropriation bill or one codifying, revising, or rearranging existing laws.”
So, how did ranked-choice voting pass muster in 2020, with its proposed three-subjects? It didn’t. The Attorney General Kevin Clarkson immediately rejected it on precisely these grounds. A law is a law is a law.
Ah, but the Alaska judiciary, that bastion of leftism personified, intervened. What else would you expect? Especially because the Republicans play the game, not found anywhere in either the state or federal constitution, that says, “The constitution means whatever the courts say it means.” This flies in the face of Article 4, Sec. 1, which says, “The jurisdiction of the courts shall be prescribed by law.”
There is a hierarchy of law, which everyone is aware of, and the lowest rung is meant to be judicial case law. However, law school classes that teach “constitutional law” are in fact merely explaining how case law opinion (5th on the rung) can trump common law (4th), statutory law (3rd), constitutional law (2nd) and natural law (1st).
Here’s why natural law is supreme: It is recognized as such in the first breath of the Declaration of Independence, under the phrase, “… the laws of Nature and Nature’s God…”
Thus, although there was no legal mechanism for colonies to unilaterally secede from the British Empire, the case, common and statutory laws of that empire were being violated, and the Patriots knew it, “… by a long train of abuses and usurpations [designed] to reduce them under absolute despotism.”
They had natural law behind them, and they directly invoked God to sustain them with the phrase, “ … appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions …” and also the phrase “ … with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence …”
Natural Law is immutable, perfect and can never be violated, yet the same colonists violated it with the recognition of slavery. Thus, constitutional law (2nd on the rung of the Hierarchy of Law), being man-made and therefore subject to error, propped up the institution for several generations. It was a square peg in a round hole, and in the end, natural law won out.
Let’s see if RCV and the other two topics that ran with it violated natural law.
Deciding how people are to vote is legitimate, and also to mandate disclosure of where political money is coming from.
No, those provisions did not violate natural law.
Did they violate #2, constitutional law? Arguably, yes. The direct proviso limiting all legislative bills to a single topic would only naturally, and certainly with greater justification, be applied to citizen initiatives, which are too complex for an ordinary citizen to digest, even when a single topic. But three?
We know many people voted for it because they wanted to control the flow of “dark money” and overlooked the rest. And although the constitution is silent about multiple topics regarding initiatives, it is not an absurd stretch to maintain otherwise.
And it certainly does not prohibit the legislature from controlling the initiative process with the same restrictions full-time legislators are bound to obey.
Did they violate #3, statutory law? Obviously, yes, and the Attorney General, the first back-stop to this violation, rejected it immediately.
But the forces of evil (yes, that’s what they are), well-heeled with limitless money from the Lower 48 and beyond, knew that they could get the judiciary to rule that the statute, requiring a single topic, violated the constitution.
And, judging by the numerous ways the judiciary had already overthrown the constitution over the abortion issue, they knew that they could get away with it, due to constitutional ignorance or sheer timidity in the face of the Democrat-controlled mainstream media.
But, they also gambled that Republican governors would never dare to exercise their prerogative, found in Article 3, Sec. 16: “[The governor] may … by proceeding brought in the name of the State, … restrain violation of any constitutional or legislative power, duty, or right by any officer, department, or agency of the State or any of its political subdivisions. This authority shall not be construed to authorize any action or proceeding against the legislature.”
The last sentence above clearly demonstrates that the executive is superior to the judiciary and the legislative is superior to the executive. It means that we do not have “three co-equal branches of government.” It is nonsense. If you have ever mouthed those words, spit them out and forever deny them.
This power of the governor exists for a reason. The judiciary itself, and its gobbledy-gook case law, are at the bottom-rung of constitutional power and authority. It is daring to call itself above the executive and legislative branches. It claims the constitution is owned by them, not the people, to whom all three branches are subservient.
And they have only recently overthrown grand jury rights, along with the power to amend the constitution that belongs to the people and the legislature in the 1997 Valley Hospital case.
Its bluff has never been called.
We cannot abide by the illegality of RCV and multi-topic initiatives. It will go on so someday we will soon have five, ten or more topics! And we cannot go on with an out-of-control judiciary. Trying to change the Judicial Council would be irrelevant if we properly understood that ALL judicial opinion is merely advice, with the final say belonging to the executive.
And that is also in the Federalist #78!
Citizens: Call on Gov. Dunleavy to cancel ranked-choice voting now by invoking Art. 3, Sec. 16, because it violates both constitutional and statutory law.
Then leave the impeachment of those black-robed clowns to the legislature.
Bob Bird is former chair of the Alaskan Independence Party and the host of a talk show on KSRM radio, Kenai.
Alaska has always been dependent on the federal government, so we like our congressional delegation to build up seniority, and power. It’s in our own self-interest. We had Rep. Don Young for 49 years as a result.
His enemies had to indict and convict Ted Stevens to end his 40-year run as one of our two senators. It’s true that his replacement, Mark Begich, only served one term, but he was a Democrat in a Republican state.
Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola’s win two years ago was a carefully engineered fluke, enabled by the vanity of former Gov. Sarah Palin, who split the Republican vote.
Our new Congressman, Nick Begich, will have the great advantage of incumbency next time.
Which brings us to Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Any advantage her seniority might give her is canceled by her behavior toward Republican presidents. She hates Trump. It’s mutual, and her representation of the state for the next four years is a liability, not an asset.
She’ll be ripe for the picking in 2028. It’s not as though she has a record of accomplishment to run on. Far from it.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy leaves office in two years, and his plans are unknown. He may take a job in Washington, or he may head up an effort to build a gas line from the North Slope. Or he may go fishing. In my humble opinion, if he ran against Murkowski in 2028, he’d beat her.
Which brings us back to Nick Begich. He should be able to stay in the House as long as wants. Running against Murkowski would be taking on an unnecessary risk. On the other hand, I’m sure Nick will never forget, or forgive, Murkowski’s last-minute endorsement of Mary Peltola.
If Dunleavy chooses not to do it, Nick Begich would be doing not only the State of Alaska, but the entire country, a favor by retiring Lisa Murkowski.
In the meantime, congrats to Nick and his campaign team for running an outstanding campaign.Fritz Pettyjohn’s first venture in politics was working for Barry Goldwater for president in 1964. He served in the Alaska Legislature in the 1980s and writes the blog ReaganProject.com.
Not many seats in the 2024 general election in Alaska went through the ranked-choice voting machine on Wednesday evening. Only nine were contested enough to get to the tabulation phase.
The presidency had already been decided, as more than 54% of voters chose Donald Trump.
For the congressional seat, Nick Begich had a lead going into the ranking process and he maintained that lead. Under the regular voting system, he would have won anyway.
Then we get to the Senate and House races for the Alaska Legislature. There were nine that had more than two candidates, and after the ranking took place, the leaders were still ahead. Not a single one of them flipped to the second-place person.
Take Senate Seat D, now held by Republican Jesse Bjorkman. He had 47.82% of the vote before ranking and edge over 50% after the Democrat votes from Tina Wegener were distributed to him. The final tally was Bjorkman 9,800 and Carpenter 8,113. Bjorkman had 54.74% of the final ranked-choice vote, but he would have won under the regular voting system as well.
The same can be said for Senate District F, where Sen. James Kaufman had the most votes before ranked-choice tally, as well as after the tally on Wednesday. The exact scenario played out for Senate District L’s Kelly Merrick, House District 6’s Rep. Sarah Vance, House District 28’s Elexie Moore, House District 36’s Rebecca Schwanke, House District 38’s Nellie Jimmie and House District 40’s Robyn Burke.
In other words, the primary and the general election provided the same results in Alaska as would have happened under normal election rules — one person, one vote.
The ranked-choice process itself was on the ballot as a ballot measure, but with the help of at least $15 million in Outside dark money pouring into Alaska to help Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s pet project, it failed to be repealed by 664 votes. Clearly, Alaskans do not prefer it, but they were told it would keep abortion legal and other strange promises.
One of the mailers sent by the Vote No on 2 group to convince Alaskans that ranked-choice voting saves abortion.
All the cost — in the millions of dollars of state money — and all the delay, yet the result was the same as it would have been under regular voting.
After spending over a year calling Nick Begich III a scammer of seniors, a slave-owner of workers, and a man who single-handedly would lead to there being no fish, children, or jobs in Alaska, Rep. Mary Peltola conceded in the evening of Nov. 20, after the ranked-choice tabulation took place in the Juneau office of the state Division of Elections.
She wished Congressman-elect Begich well in a prepared statement:
“Working for Alaska as a member of our federal delegation has been the honor of my life. Thank you all for that opportunity. I’ll tell you, working for all of Alaska isn’t easy. Some say we have six regions; others say twelve distinct regions, cultures, and communities with unique and sometimes conflicting needs.
“The path ahead will not be built by one person or three people working for all of Alaska but by all Alaskans working together to build a future that works for all of us. No one in the Lower 48 is coming to save us. It’s up to us. As I close out this campaign and term in Congress, I want to thank my family and staff. Your sacrifices for Alaska might go unseen by most, but we all know their impact.
“To both my Campaign and Congressional teams, thank you. You’ve lifted me up during difficult times. You achieved generational wins for Alaska. You brought so many new people into the Alaska political process. You amplified Alaskans’ voices across the country. And you made fish a national issue. I am forever thankful to all of you for that.
“Nick, I’m rooting for you. Please don’t forget when DC people keep telling you that you are one of three, you are actually one of more than seven hundred thousand Alaskans who are ready to fight for our state, myself included.”
Gone were her accusations that Begich was a conspiracy theorist and gone were her attacks on NBIII’s father, Nick Begich II, who is the son of Alaska’s former Congressman Nick Begich. She was back to being “nice Mary.”
Peltola ran what some in Alaska consider to be the most toxic campaign that Alaska has ever seen. She denied knowing anything about the statements she put out that said Begich would destroy all fish, jobs and all hope for the future. She denied she had made ads like this one:
Now, as she concedes, Peltola says she is “rooting for you” to Begich, before using a veiled term indicating that she is ready to fight again. Some say she is going to ramp up to run for governor in 2026 or for Senate against Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who endorsed Peltola, wrote a polite reaction to the result, which had been forecasted by many in recent days:
“I congratulate Representative-elect Nick Begich on his election to be Alaska’s at-large Congressman. I look forward to working with him as a partner in our Congressional delegation and the opportunities we will have to advance Alaska’s priorities in the coming Congress.
“To my friend, Mary: working with you as a member of the delegation has been a privilege. You have represented Alaskans well throughout your short tenure, and navigated this journey while facing unimaginable personal tragedy with grace, humility, and determination. Alaska has been made better with your service in Congress.”
Of the many accomplishments for Alaska by Peltola was voting to permit men and boys to use women’s and girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, and not showing up for 40% of the congressional votes taken over the summer of 2024. She also sent tens of thousands of campaign-style letters using her official letterhead and passing the costs off to taxpayers in the waning days of her campaign, which was the most expensive in Alaska history.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy also wrote a congratulatory note for Begich. Initially, he had endorsed Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, but then endorsed Begich after Dahlstrom dropped out after the primary.
“I want to congratulate Congressman-elect Nick Begich on winning Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. With President Trump returning to office, Alaska’s future looks bright once again. I am confident that the Biden-Harris policies, which have worked to strangle our economy and undermine our Alaskan way of life over the past four years, are thankfully nearing an end. My administration is eager to work with Congressman-elect Begich to incentivize private sector investment in Alaska, creating new jobs that can support families and attract young people looking “North to the Future” for fresh opportunities.”
After 16 days of waiting, the final 5,800 ballots in the Nov. 5 election were counted on Wednesday. In all, there were 340,510 ballot cast and counted in this election, for a turnout of 55.72%.
Then, it was ranked-choice tabulation at the Division of Elections in Juneau, when the results for those in ranked-choice races were finalized. There were only a handful of races that went into the tabulation.
In the ranked-choice system, it’s a series of runoffs that are tabulated by computer, with the persons getting the least amount of votes eliminated and the voters’ second or third choice is then assigned to the candidate they indicate. Only those races with three or more candidates and no candidate getting more than 50% of the vote on the first round went into the ranked-choice system.
In the House District 18 race, there were only two candidates and no ranking. Republican David Nelson flipped the seat by beating Democrat incumbent Cliff Groh, 1,878 to 1,855 — 23 votes. The overseas military votes made a difference in this race, which will probably go to a recount.
Congress:Republican Nick Begich beat Peltola 164,117 to 155,763 votes.
Senate District D: GOP Sen. Jesse Bjorkman won over Ben Carpenter, 9,800 to 8,113.
Senate District F: Republican Sen. James Kaufman won over Democrat Janice Park, 8,651 to 7,731.
Senate District L: Republican Sen. Kelly Merrick beat Jared Goecker 9,892 to 7,938.
House District 6: Republican Rep. Sarah Vance beat Brent Johnson 5,634 to 5,148.
House District 28: Republican Elexie Moore beat Steve Menard, 3,241-3,228
House District 36: Republican Rebecca Schwanke won over 4,048-Kowalski 3,104
House District 38: Democrat Nellie Jimmie beat C.J. McCormick, 1,421. to 1,363
House District 40: Democrat Robyn Burke beat Saima Chase, 1,388 to 921
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah will be the incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources when the Senate returns in January. He takes over from former Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of Virginia, who is retiring from the Senate.
Lee is an energy advocate. On his “@BasedMikeLee” account on X, he wrote, “I support clean energy. That’s why I support coal and natural gas.”
The committee oversees legislation relating to public lands, water, issues that matter to Native Americans, and energy resources.
The senator said he was “humbled and honored” to have been selected by his Republican colleagues. “Time to get to work and unleash American energy,” he wrote on X.
During this year’s election campaign season, he endorsed Congressman-elect Nick Begich for Alaska’s at-large seat. His leadership in energy legislation has been legendary in the Senate. His Stop the Grinch Act during the Covid pandemic would have helped Alaskans by temporarily suspending the Jones Act, which drives up shipping costs.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski serves on the committee and has seniority over Lee, she was not offered the position of chair because of Senate rules; she has already served as chair and is term-limited. She may be hoping for a seat on Appropriations.
