Trump's New AG Pick Pam Bondi Is The Latest In His Orbit To Have A Bizarre Dog Controversy

Donald Trump's cabinet nominations have become the subject of headlines since his 2024 election win, even stirring up back-to-back scandals. With Matt Gaetz withdrawing from consideration for the Attorney General position, Trump swiftly selected another one of his most ardent followers, Pam Bondi. Bondi served as the first female Attorney General of Florida from 2011 to 2019, but more importantly, she was Trump's attorney during his first impeachment trial. While her history is mostly clear from wild conspiracy, she's no stranger to controversy. The weirdest of those was when she got locked into a custody battle over a dog.

In 2005, Bondi adopted a St. Bernard that had been separated from its family during Hurricane Katrina. The adoption center, the Pinellas County Humane Society, was one of the hundreds around the country who took in displaced pets after Katrina rocked Louisiana. The owners of the dog Bondi adopted eventually tracked him down and requested she return their dog. Bondi refused, and a 16-month public legal battle began that eventually saw Bondi return the family's pet.

Perhaps even weirder is that weird dog controversies tend to come up for people around Trump. His "they're eating the dogs" quote from the presidential debate pales in comparison to the allegations that RFK Jr. ate a dog and Kristi Noem killed a dog. Throw in Pam Bondi stealing a dog from hurricane victims and you've got the trifecta of negative canine news.

When Donald Trump first took office, it was clear that he was a bit out of his depth. He even admitted as much during his interview with Joe Rogan, saying: "I had to rely on people that I respected or liked, but that I didn't know that well, because I didn't know them that well." His cabinet in his first term had a lot of turnover, largely because he was so inexperienced as a politician. But as he fills his cabinet before Inauguration Day faster than any president in recent memory, Trump seems to have figured out what he's looking for.

It's no surprise that his biggest supporters are the ones finding themselves in positions of power, but it goes deeper than that. Trump is picking people who fall in line with his plans to blow up the Washington establishment, selecting billionaires, influencers, and political outsiders, not caring about their scandalous or controversial pasts. His selections are a clear message of just how much change and disruption he plans to bring with his presidency. The incoming president has even talked about giving up golf during his term. While Senate confirmations may keep some of his nominations out, he's sidestepped even that process by making his new Department of Government Efficiency a non-government entity.