Is Attorney General Pam Bondi any Better for Kids than Attorney General Matt Gaetz?
Matt Gaetz as Attorney General was a bad idea. The House Ethics Committee found substantial evidence that Gaetz had sex with an underage girl, and that he regularly paid women for sex during his tenure in Congress. An underage girl is another way to say ‘child’. Matt Gaetz slept with a child. Not only that, this bipartisan committee found that Gaetz had a history of using illicit substances like cocaine and ecstasy. And as if all that wasn’t enough, he was making his hook ups fly Spirit Airlines.
His colleagues in the halls of Congress knew what he was up to. Hell, Gaetz knew that what he was up to disqualified him from serving as Attorney General, the highest law enforcement officer in the country. Hence the reason he rapidly pulled out (sorry, couldn’t resist) from consideration. Basically, what I’m saying is his resemblance to Butt-Head from ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ was so fitting because he is, in fact, a butthead. You’ll never be able to unsee this. Thank me later.
But since Gaetz withdrew, what impacts could Pam Bondi have on children? She undoubtedly has the legal résumé to serve as Attorney General given she served as Florida’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2019, but that doesn’t mean she is qualified. The AG role requires independence and sound judgment. Which Bondi doesn’t have. In her confirmation hearing, when pressed by Sen. Hirono on FACTS, Bondi could not admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election. And that is precisely the reason she was Trump’s backup pick.
Let’s talk about her record.
Bondi has been a vocal opponent of LGBTQ+ rights throughout her political career, including fighting to ban same-sex marriage in Florida (the 1990s called, they want their homophobia back). She has supported policies that would negatively impact transgender youth, such as opposing access to life-saving, evidence-based gender-affirming healthcare. Seems like it’s too much to ask of Republican adults to not be as*holes who bully children. Her policies perpetuate discrimination and stigmatization of children in same-sex marriage families and those who identify as LGBTQ+.
As Attorney General of Florida, Bondi's office was criticized for not doing enough to protect children from abuse, particularly in cases related to child sexual exploitation and trafficking. Ironic given Matt Gaetz was nominated to be Attorney General before Bondi and he’s also from Florida and was also investigated for sex trafficking. While her office took action on these issues, her policies were obscenely weak in addressing the root causes of child exploitation. Any nominee for Attorney General who doesn’t aggressively prosecute cases of child sexual abuse and child trafficking isn’t qualified. I feel like this is something that shouldn’t have to be said. But here we are. Don’t you ever let Republicans convince you they’re the party trying to protect kids. That’s bullsh*t.
Her stance on healthcare? As Florida’s Attorney General, she fought against Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (she and Gov. Henry McMaster have that in common). Expanding Medicaid would have provided health insurance to children in need. As a South Carolinian, I feel strongly about Medicaid expansion. As our state has refused to expand it as well. Who’s going to tell Republicans that inevitably, we pay for our state’s refusal to expand Medicaid? Because uninsured children still show up in Emergency Departments, often with preventable illnesses and injuries, because they couldn’t access primary preventative care, and somebody has to pay for that care. Spoiler alert: privately insured patients pay for that care. Access to healthcare for children seems like a no-brainer. Anyone fighting against any effort to get children the healthcare they need is not only an as*hole, but they have no business serving as the United States AG.
What about education? I bet you’re noticing a trend. She has consistently prioritized private school voucher schemes over the public education system. This diverts much-needed money away from public schools, which many low-income families rely on for education. I’d guess she probably doesn’t want kids to have free meals at school either. Non-parent here, and I firmly believe that kids who need free or reduced price meals in school, should get those meals. Tax me more, take all my money, but FEED THE KIDS.
Where is Bondi on criminal justice? You can guess, and you’ll probably guess right. Her policies were racist. They didn’t focus on rehabilitation, but instead focused on incarceration. These policies have negative impacts on children’s mental and emotional development. Why? Families are destabilized when a parent or parents are incarcerated, especially in Black and Brown communities that have been systematically affected by over-incarceration.
Bondi’s environmental policies? She was the Attorney General for a state who is no stranger to the effects of climate change. A state that continues seeing stronger and stronger hurricanes. Her lack of aggressive action on climate change is laughable. (Reminiscent of the Lowcountry’s own climate science denier, Rep. Nancy Mace.) We are seeing the devastating impacts of climate change, especially on our most vulnerable, which includes children. And this problem is only going to get worse.
So, her legal résumé? Yeah, it’s good. Her independence, character, and sound judgment though? Disqualifying. And our most vulnerable population, children, will pay the price when Bondi is confirmed as the next United States Attorney General.