WASHINGTON

Pam Bondi, the former attorney general from the state of Florida whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Justice Department, faced grilling from lawmakers Wednesday about whether she would maintain the agency's independence if confirmed to the office.

During her confirmation hearing ahead of the president-elect's Jan. 20 inauguration, Bondi claimed that during the last four years, the Justice Department has been "weaponized" to go after Trump.

"They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him, actually, starting back in 2016 they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am attorney general. I will not politicize that office," she told the Senate Judiciary Committee upon questioning from Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

"I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation. Justice will be administered even-handedly throughout this country. Senator, we've got to bring this country back together. We've got to move forward, or we're going to lose our country," she added.

She denied that she would follow through on any improper orders from the president, and added that if confirmed "the people of America would be my client," not Trump.

Under questioning from Democratic lawmakers, Bondi repeatedly refused to acknowledge Trump's 2020 election loss, saying instead: "President (Joe) Biden is the President of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the President of the United States." Bondi, who had initially worked as part of the team to overturn Trump's defeat that year, declined to say if Biden was duly elected.

"I can say that Donald Trump won the 2024 election. I may not like it, but I can say it. You cannot say who won the 2020 presidential election. It's disturbing that you can't give voice to that fact," Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono said while questioning Bondi.