Pamela Jo Bondi was born on November 17, 1965, in Tampa, Florida. Raised in a politically engaged family, she developed an early interest in public service and the law. Bondi pursued her higher education at the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1987. She later attended Stetson University College of Law, graduating with her Juris Doctor in 1990. Her academic background laid the foundation for her future career as a prosecutor and attorney general.

After completing law school, she began her career as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, where she specialized in prosecuting child abuse cases. In 2010, she was elected as Florida’s 37th Attorney General, becoming the first woman to hold the position. During her tenure from 2011 to 2019, Bondi gained national recognition for her efforts to combat human trafficking, opioid addiction, and fraud. She also played a leading role in multistate lawsuits against major pharmaceutical companies over their role in the opioid crisis and in efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

In 2019, Bondi joined the Donald Trump administration in the Office of the White House Counsel, and she was part of the team that represented President Trump in his first impeachment trial. Bondi’s experience as a former state attorney general and seasoned litigator made her a valuable asset to the defense team. Her arguments emphasized procedural fairness, and she played a key part on the defense legal team during the first impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

In 2020, Bondi joined the lobbying firm of Ballard Partners, and she continued to be an important part of Trump’s team. She was an outspoken supporter of his claims of fraud and corruption after the 2020 presidential election, although those claims were disproven. She also served as a chair for the Center for Litigation and co-chair for the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank formed to promote Trump’s public policies.

President Trump nominated Bondi as US attorney general after his first pick, Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, withdrew because of investigations into ethics violations. The US Senate confirmed Bondi on February 4, 2025, by a vote of 54-46, and the next day she was sworn in as the 87th Attorney General of the United States.