When Pam Bondi was sworn in as attorney general last week, she made a promise to President Donald Trump: “I am truly honored that you have asked me to take on this role, and I will make you proud, and I will make this country proud.” 

In the 10 days since, Bondi has quickly demonstrated her intention to make good on that pledge — and has become one of the most vocal enforcers of Trump’s political agenda. After taking office, she immediately issued a number of directives, including a commitment that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will “use all available criminal statutes to combat the flood of illegal immigration.” She also issued a memo to employees in the Justice Department emphasizing that expectations “include not only aggressively enforcing civil and criminal laws enacted by Congress, but also vigorously defending presidential policies and actions against legal challenges on behalf of the United States.” 

In Fox News interviews over the last week, Bondi has defended the administration’s attempts to freeze federal funding and asserted that the leaders of sanctuary cities do not prioritize public safety, a concern that has become a conservative dog whistle depicting immigrant men of color as a safety threat to White women. 

That imagery was reinforced on Wednesday when Bondi announced that she has sued the state of New York, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James, arguing that a state law allowing undocumented people to obtain driver’s licenses is unconstitutional. During a news conference announcing the lawsuit, Bondi was joined by Tammy Nobles, whose daughter Kayla Hamilton was sexually assaulted and murdered in Maryland by a gang member who happened to be undocumented.

The lawsuit against New York follows another one filed against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, alleging obstruction of federal immigration enforcement. For critics of the Trump administration, these moves from Bondi showcase the reality of having Trump loyalists in top government positions.

“Many members on the Democratic side of the aisle expressed fears that Attorney General Pam Bondi would put her loyalty to the president ahead of anything else. Our fears have been realized,” said U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche, a former Trump attorney now nominated to be deputy attorney general.

During Bondi’s own confirmation hearings, Democratic senators questioned whether she would use her position to help Trump go after political enemies and if she would support pardons for people convicted in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In her responses, Bondi did not shy away from confrontational exchanges with the senators. After Sen. Alex Padilla of California asked her to state the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, she said, “Senator, I’m here to answer your questions. I’m not here to do your homework and study for you.”

Bondi has been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against Trump and has called prosecutors who have charged him “horrible” people who are “going after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.” She has declined to say that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. She was also a special adviser for Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment process.

“We raised this issue before her confirmation that she doesn’t have the necessary independence from Trump to faithfully execute the duties of being attorney general,” said Alison Gill, director of Nominations and Democracy for the National Women’s Law Center. “The attorney general’s first duty is to the Constitution and their client is the American people, not the president. President Trump wants to change that.”

Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018, during his first term, after Sessions recused himself from the investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia. Trump also turned on Attorney General William Barr, who refused to support the president’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. 

Part of the duties of attorney general often include enforcing a president’s legal priorities, but critics say Bondi could represent a new level of loyalty driven by political motivations. One of her office’s memos stated that the DOJ’s civil rights division will “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.”

Separately, DOJ leadership on Monday ordered the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to dismiss pending criminal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams over allegations of public corruption. The order suggested that Adams’ criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policies could have driven the charges brought against him. It also alleged, without evidence, that the charges distract Adams from devoting “full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration.”

Sassoon resigned. In a letter to Bondi, she noted conditions within the department that make it impossible for her to do her job, according to CNN.

Bondi’s lawsuits against jurisdictions with protections for undocumented immigrants mirror an effort that Trump’s administration tried eight years ago, but that were ultimately blocked by the courts. In the news conference announcing the lawsuit against New York, she expressed hope that the case would be elevated to the conservative-majority Supreme Court, where the law allowing for undocumented people to receive licenses could be overturned.

“If you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next, get ready,” Bondi said. “This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect American citizens.”