Pam Bondi claims justice department ‘targeted’ Trump but says she won’t pursue ‘political’ prosecutions – US politics live | Trump administration

Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, is continuing to take questions from senators on the judiciary committee. Thus far, she’s pledged to end the “weaponization” of the justice department – a key Republican talking point – and said she thinks the department “targeted” Trump during Joe Biden’s presidency. She refused to say that her aspiring boss lost the 2020 election, but did say that she would not order prosecutions solely for political reasons. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, whom Trump has nominated to lead the state department, told senators he expects Russia and Ukraine to make “concessions” to end their war, and criticized Nato allies for not spending enough on their defense. Both Rubio and Trump’s energy secretary nominee, Chris Wright, had their hearings disrupted by protesters, who were removed by police.

Here’s what else has happened today:

• A ceasefire deal has reportedly been reached to end the fighting in Gaza and see the release of hostages taken in the 7 October attack, prompting Trump to quickly claim credit.

• Climate activists urged senators to reject Wright, an oil executive who has said: “There is no climate crisis.”

• Democratic senators pressed Bondi for her views on Kash Patel’s ideas to reform the FBI, which he has been nominated to lead.

Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing has reconvened after a lunch break, and the Democratic senator Peter Welch asked the attorney general nominee whether she had discussed with Donald Trump his desire to prosecute his political enemies.

Welch asked about lawmakers who served on the House committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection, all of whom Trump has said should be prosecuted. “No discussion about that,” Bondi said. He then asked specifically about former representative Liz Cheney, a top Trump foe and member of the committee. “We have had no discussions about Liz Cheney,” she said.

The senator asked Bondi to promise that she would not order investigations or prosecutions for political reasons – which is exactly the sort of thing Trump campaigned on doing.

“No one will be prosecuted, investigated because they are a political opponent. That’s what we’ve seen for the last four years in this administration. It will be prosecuted based on the facts and the law and fairly,” Bondi said.

“Every case will be done on a case-by-case basis. No one should be prosecuted for political purposes.”

Reports have emerged that negotiators have reached a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which will see hostages taken by Hamas in the 7 October attack released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Joe Biden has provided military support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza, while simultaneously dispatching his top diplomats to the Middle East over the course of months to negotiate a ceasefire.

But in a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump quickly took credit for the reported deal, saying it would not be possible without his election victory in November:

This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies. I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.

With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven. We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords. This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the World!

We have achieved so much without even being in the White House. Just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House, and my Administration is fully confirmed, so they can secure more Victories for the United States!

Follow our live blog for the latest on the emerging deal:

Climate activists disrupted the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s pick to head the energy department, the oil executive Chris Wright.

The protesters, convened by the youth-led non-profit the Sunrise Movement, chanted about the ongoing deadly fires in Los Angeles amid widespread evidence that fossil fuels exacerbate the climate crisis. “Big oil profits, LA burns,” one banner read.

One activist said senators were not asking Wright hard-hitting questions about global warming. He was quickly removed from the room.

An 18-year-old protester also shouted over Wright as he was speaking. “I want a future,” she said.

Other climate groups are also speaking out against Wright’s confirmation.

“Chris Wright has been an evangelist for drilling more and exporting more US-produced fossil fuels overseas,” said David Arkush, climate director at the non-profit Public Citizen.

“His confirmation will put Big Oil profits ahead of protecting American families.”

Environmentalists are additionally protesting other Trump picks, including North Dakota governor Doug Burgum who was nominated for secretary of the interior and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin.

“These men will choose items off the fossil fuel industry’s wishlist over the good of the American people every time,” said Allie Rosenbluth, a manager at advocacy group Oil Change International.

Asked by senator Jeanne Shaheen about the incoming Trump administration’s policy on Nato, Marco Rubio repeated the president-elect’s criticism of European countries for spending too little on defense by relying on support from the United States.

“I think it’s important to have alliances, but we have to have alliances with strong and capable partners, and not those who sort of view the US and the Nato defense agreement as an excuse to stop and spend on domestic needs,” Rubio said.

As part of his defense of demanding that Nato allies spend more on defense, he accused those countries of overspending on domestic programs and “enormous safety nets.”

“These advanced, rich countries in western Europe have enormous safety nets, programs that they fund,” he added. “We have domestic needs as well, but they’ve been able to divert funds to or grow those programs because they don’t have to spend as much on defense as we do as a percentage of our overall economy.

“And that dynamic needs to change, and I expect president Trump will continue to forcefully make that point.”

Ukraine and Russia will have to make ‘concessions’ in Trump peace deal, says secretary of state nominee Rubio

Andrew Roth

Secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio has said he believes that both Ukraine and Russia will have to make “concessions” in order to achieve a ceasefire and ultimately a peace deal that Donald Trump has said he can deliver as president.

Asked about the Trump administration’s policy on Ukraine in his confirmation hearing, the Florida senator said that the US policy on the war “should be … that it is brought to an end” but added that that would require “bold diplomacy” and “hard work”.

“There is no way Russia takes all of Ukraine. Ukrainians are too brave and fight too hard. The country is too big. That’s not going to happen,” he said.

“It’s also unrealistic to believe that somehow a nation the size of Ukraine … is going to push [the Russians] all the way back to where they were on the day of the invasion.”

Trump has been attacked for his criticism of Ukraine’s leadership and for echoing Russia’s reasoning for going to war, including concerns over Ukraine’s aspirations to join Nato.

In order to reach a peace deal, Rubio said, “there will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation, but also by the Ukrainians and the United States.”

There will also have to be some “balance”, he said, with both sides holding “leverage” in order to achieve a ceasefire and then a peace agreement.

Pam Bondi launched an attack on the justice department’s twin indictments of Donald Trump during Joe Biden’s administration, saying the president-elect was “targeted” for political reasons.

Justice department special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump on charges related to hiding classified materials at his properties and trying to overturn the 2020 election. He dismissed both cases in November, after the former president won re-election.

“I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last four years, and what’s been happening to Donald Trump,” Bondi said in an exchange with Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

“They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him, actually, starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am attorney general. I will not politicize that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation. Justice will be administered even handedly throughout this country.”

Climate activists called on senators to reject Trump’s energy secretary pick Chris Wright, ahead of his confirmation hearing today.

The hearing for Wright, a fracking and fossil fuel executive who has said “there is no climate crisis,” comes as deadly wildfires continue to devastate the Los Angeles area, killing at least 25 people.

Participants convened by the youth-led environmental justice group the Sunrise Movement chanted: “Reject Chris Wright, we won’t burn, we will fight.” They were joined by congresspeople Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Ro Khanna of California, as well as Massachusetts senator Ed Markey, all climate hawks.

“Trump decided not to appoint a cabinet, but a cartel,” Markey said, adding that he is working to introduce a bill aiming to keep fossil fuel interests out of the White House.

Despite widespread scientific evidence showing the climate crisis has increased the severity and frequency of wildfires, Wright has claimed there is no connection. He has also promised to clear the way for the continued expansion of planet-heating fossil fuels.

“We need to say no to Chris Wright and his agenda of unconditional drilling,” said Khanna.

At the press conference, survivors of devastating California wildfires spoke out, demanding senators keep Wright out of the energy department. A 21-year-old activist described a moment four years ago, when she was “choking” on wildfire smoke.

“As I lay awake, my lungs burning and my nose full of smoke,” she said, “I remembered that every decimal of a degree of global temperature rise prevented can save countless lives.”

Other climate groups are also speaking out against Wright’s appointment.

“Chris Wright is the personification of ‘conflict of interest,” said Mahyar Sorour, director of beyond fossil fuels policy at green group the Sierra Club. “As Americans from coast to coast are living with the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis, the last thing we need is a climate-denying fossil fuel executive at the helm of our nation’s energy policy.”

Andrew Roth

Three protesters have been detained by Capitol police for interrupting Marco Rubio’s opening remarks at his confirmation hearing before the Senate foreign relations committee.

One man yelled that Rubio had supported US “forever wars” abroad, an elderly woman complained in Spanish about his record on Nicaragua, and a third said she opposed the US policy of using sanctions abroad. In each case, Capitol police moved quickly into the crowd, grabbed the protester, and dragged the person from the room.

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A sergeant at arms had earlier warned that anyone who disrupted the confirmation hearings for Rubio could face arrest under the DC criminal code.

Jim Risch, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, began the hearing on Wednesday by warning that he was “significantly less tolerant than my predecessors regarding demonstrations or communications or disruptions during the committee”.

“This place is not a place for demonstrations or communications with members of the committee,” he said. “We have work to do the government’s work here … We’re not going to tolerate any type of disruptions, communications or anything like that … Distractions will include not only noise, but also standing up, holding up hands, signs, no one will be allowed to do that.”

If the committee is disrupted, he said that he would ask the sergeant at arms and the Capitol police to intervene.

Andrew Roth

About 20 protesters from activist groups including Code Pink, Jewish Voice for Peace and others were first in line to protest at the confirmation hearings of senator Marco Rubio at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday, with several calling him a “warmonger” and an “imperialist”.

The protesters wore pink T-shirts bearing slogans such as “Hands off Palestine!”, “Hands off Iran!” and “Hands off Greenland!” and had painted their hands red to represent the “blood of the victims” of US policies abroad, according to organiser Medea Benjamin.

Several of those attending may be ready to disrupt the proceeding, Benjamin added, without elaborating.

One of the protesters, Adnaan Stumo, called Rubio “one of the worst warmongers”.

“He’s been trying to get us to to dominate, to invade and to carry out coups everywhere, from Iran to Russia to Venezuela to Cuba to China,” he said.

“Some of us think that Trump really has some good sentiments in wanting to get out of Ukraine,” Benjamin said before the hearing.

“But on the other hand, he’s surrounding himself with all of these war hawks, and Marco Rubio is one of them,” said Benjamin.

“It’s a mix [of political views] but we’re also angry at the Democrats of the genocide and then four years of a horrible foreign policy,” she said, adding that many were upset in particular by the US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

“A lot of us are upset with the Democrats and the Republicans, and we think that we’re being run by two parties that are very pro-war and giving almost $1bn, almost $1tn, to the Pentagon when we have so many needs here at home, and … I think left and right come together, because that is the general sentiment in this country,” she said.

Democratic senators have repeatedly asked Pam Bondi about controversial comments made by Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director.

Senator Amy Klobuchar asked Bondi if she agreed with Patel’s comments that the FBI’s intelligence division is the bureau’s “biggest problem”, and should be broken up.

“I have not seen those comments from Mr Patel. I would review them, but we have to do everything we can to protect our country. Again, Mr Patel would fall under me and the department of justice, and I will ensure that all laws are followed, and so will he,” Bondi said.

Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked Pam Bondi “under what circumstances will you prosecute journalists for what they write?”

“I believe in the freedom of speech – only if anyone commits a crime. It’s pretty basic, senator, with anything, with any victim, and this is this goes back to my entire career, for 18 years as a prosecutor and then eight years as Florida’s attorney general. You find the facts of the case, you apply the law in good faith, and you treat everyone fairly,” she replied.