Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said after Wednesday's hearing on President-elect Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, that he plans to vote against the nomination for now, but “I want to be fair.” .
Mr. Coons appeared on CNN's “The Source” on Wednesday and was asked about questions posed to Mr. Bondi earlier in the day. He said Bondi answered the first two questions satisfactorily, but the third one made him question her candidacy.
“That was the third question, and I said, 'What would you do if you were ordered to do something that was illegal or unethical?'” Coons said. “She said, 'That's hypothetical, so I'm not going to answer that.'”
Mr. Coons said he needed to tell Mr. Bondi that it was not a hypothetical because President Trump might ask her to do so.
CNN's Caitlan Collins asked the senator whether Bondi's response to that question meant he would not vote for her confirmation.
“No for now, but…I'm going to go back and review the record,” he replied. “I try to be fair and try to make reasonable efforts to get her my vote, but I was not satisfied at the end of today's hearing.”
Bondi was roundly criticized by senators on Wednesday as he prepares to test for President Trump's attorney general post. She is the second, more traditional choice after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew his name from consideration following scathing publicity.
There is concern among Democrats that whoever President Trump chooses to lead the Justice Department will turn it into a department geared toward retaliating against the president-elect's enemies.
Democrats used the time Wednesday to question Bondi about what they see as the biggest issue: whether she would reject President Trump's demands to target political opponents.
Bondi has slammed the multiple investigations into Trump as evidence that the Justice Department is being used as a weapon for political gain, something Democrats say is far from the case.
Coons said on CNN that “an important guardrail” is that the Justice Department and FBI maintain their independence. He said Mr Bondi's failure to clearly answer the third question raised concerns.
“To me, that's a critical question. She will stand up when the situation calls for it and prove that the independence of the Justice Department is more important than loyalty to a candidate she strongly supports. '' Koons said.
