Peter Welch: “I believe that the Attorney General may, in fact, be the most important position in a President's Cabinet, and if it is…”

“I believe that the Attorney General may, in fact, be the most important position in a President's Cabinet, and if it is not the most important, it certainly is the most difficult. Whoever is our Attorney General is a person that serves all of us. They have two clients. They have the President who appointed her or him and they have the Constitution. Let me be clear that I have no objections to any President, including President Trump, appointing someone that the President is close to. President Kennedy appointed his brother. I do have a problem with any President seeing the job of Attorney General to be the person who runs ``my Justice Department,'' and that is how President Trump has characterized it--``my Justice Department.'' So we have this dilemma with respect to coming to a conclusion on the use of the responsibility that the Senate as an institution has for the advice and consent of a Cabinet member. I start from the orientation that a President should be able to pick his team and that we should take up nominations and move on them, vote on them expeditiously. My orientation is that the President is entitled to the benefit of the doubt but not to a blank check. What is also difficult for me with respect to this appointment is that, in my view, Pam Bondi is accomplished and competent and qualified. I have great respect for her work as a county prosecutor in Florida, and I have great respect for her work as attorney general in the State of Florida.…”