Pam Bondi has her work cut out for her. She is leading a Department of Justice in which only two in 10 people currently have high confidence. Many believe the department has been over-politicized for the last four years, and they are right to be upset.
For example, the DOJ targeted the fundraising practices of Elon Musk, the Trump campaign’s top financial backer, while ignoring the seemingly identical practices used by former first lady Michelle Obama. The Justice Department also directed law enforcement to investigate critics of school board members, who were accused of “domestic terrorism” merely for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech against the teaching of politically sensitive topics such as critical race theory and gender identity issues.
To repair the department and ensure that lawfare and antitrust overreach no longer define its operations, Bondi must implement a series of critical reforms and policy shifts.
Bondi was clear in her confirmation hearing: “the partisanship, the weaponization, will be gone,” “there will never be an enemy’s list within the DOJ,” and “America will have one tier of justice for all.” She can quickly follow through on these promises by issuing clear directives emphasizing that all cases will be pursued based on evidence and legal merit, not political considerations.
She could also establish an independent oversight panel composed of bipartisan legal experts to review high-profile or politically sensitive cases.
Either measure would send a clear and strong message that the Trump administration is a sincere proponent of law and order for all people and is committed to preventing the dangerous weaponization of justice that has eroded the public’s trust in the Justice Department.
Many legal analysts believe the DOJ’s antitrust division was just as politically charged as the larger department. They say it worked overtime to challenge long-standing legal norms in an attempt to bend the U.S. free market economy further to the left.
Consider how, despite the payment processing industry having significant competition, the Biden DOJ sued Visa and its debit card market. Why? Because maintaining a 60% market share is too much, according to the department. Or how, per the Wall Street Journal editorial board, the DOJ sued property owners’ rental price guideline software on antitrust grounds “to distract voters from frustration over the Biden Administration’s inflationary policies.”
Bondi should direct the antitrust division to refocus on its core mission: addressing clear and demonstrable harm to consumers. This means recalibrating the DOJ’s enforcement priorities to target monopolistic practices that directly harm the marketplace rather than pursuing cases with tenuous economic justifications (such as the Biden DOJ’s Visa case) or political undercurrents (such as its rent pricing software case).
She could also promote transparency by requiring the DOJ to publish detailed guidelines explaining the rationale for antitrust actions. This would help businesses understand compliance expectations and reduce the perception that DOJ enforcement is arbitrary or politically motivated. And it would help to encourage businesses to resume innovating and expanding as the fear of the government raising untenable (and unreasonable) challenge cards would begin to subside.
Encouraging transparency and accountability within the DOJ and an end to politically motivated decision-making will require robust protections for whistleblowers who expose misconduct and abuses of power. Bondi can strengthen existing policies to ensure that employees who report ethical violations are protected from retaliation. This would foster a culture of integrity and help identify problems before they escalate into public scandals.
Restoring trust in the DOJ will require not only internal reforms but also a concerted effort to communicate these changes to the public. Bondi should regularly hold press conferences or issue reports detailing the department’s progress in addressing past concerns and implementing reforms. By being transparent about her vision and the steps being taken, she can rebuild public confidence in the institution.
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Finally, Bondi should seize the opportunity to modernize the DOJ’s operations to ensure efficiency and fairness. This could include leveraging advanced data analytics to identify patterns of misconduct or systemic bias within the department. Additionally, she should advocate legislative updates to clarify the DOJ’s authority in areas such as antitrust enforcement, ensuring that the department’s actions align with contemporary economic realities.
Bondi brings to the Office of the Attorney General the right experience and professionalism needed to do the job. Her tenure at the DOJ represents a chance to turn the page on a fraught chapter in the department’s history. By prioritizing impartial justice, reining in overreach, strengthening safeguards against lawfare, and fostering transparency, she can restore the public’s faith in the institution. These reforms will not only address immediate concerns but also lay the foundation for a DOJ that operates with integrity and accountability for years to come.
Bob Goodlatte is a former chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.