Sen. James Lankford said Sunday that no one knows whether the second Trump administration will let the Department of Justice operate without political interference and pressure.

“I don’t think we know that one way or the other. I think President Trump does want people that are loyal to him,” the Oklahoma Republican said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He wants to make sure that the people that are around him in the Cabinet are at least directionally the right direction.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s first pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, withdrew his nomination last week amid turmoil over a House Ethics Committee report on allegations of sex with minors and illicit drug use. His second pick, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, was one of his defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial.

Democrats have often talked about whether Mr. Trump would use the Justice Department to go after his political enemies, much like he says the department did to him during the Biden administration.

Mr. Lankford said the position of attorney general is supposed to be “America’s lawyer,” not the president’s.

“But it’s also someone that the president wants to know is heading the same direction that they are, because it’s very important. When you talk about the attorney general, they’re the key component of the prosecution of federal crimes around the country,” he said. “Every single U.S. attorney around the country works for them and with them.”

“So it is very important that we get this role right and that they’re actually focused on diminishing crime in America and make sure we’re getting good prosecutions,” he said.

He also said it would be fair for Ms. Bondi to “step in and say, we’re not going to allow someone to try to undercut the president of the United States in this Department of Justice.”

“You have got to actually be balanced and about justice, not about attacking the president,” he said.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.