Understanding the difference between productive trust and empty loyalty
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz was always going to be the most difficult of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections to get through the Senate confirmation process. He was nominated under a shroud of investigations by the Department of Justice in 2020 and, more recently, the House Ethics Committee on accusations of illicit drug use, paying for sex—including sex with a minor—and obstruction of government investigations. Gaetz’s conduct gave reason to doubt his worthiness to be the government’s top attorney, despite the charges being dropped in his DOJ case and the House investigation not yet concluded when he had resigned to pursue the AG nomination.
There was some speculation that his nomination was part of why Trump broached the topic of recess appointments last week. Yet, Gaetz was in Washington on Thursday morning, working with Vice President-elect JD Vance to build support for his approval. Eventually, however, it became clear that such approval wasn’t coming.
After the race in Pennsylvania was finally called in favor of Republican Dave McCormick, the GOP will have a fifty-three-seat majority in the Senate, with only fifty votes needed for Trump’s nominations to be approved. Thursday’s conversations confirmed that at least four Republicans were already firm in their opposition, with several more inclined to vote no. Given that no Democrats were expected to vote in Gaetz’s favor, that left intervention from Trump as his only viable path to the position.
Faced with that reality, Gaetz chose to withdraw from consideration, posting on X that:
While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
News broke Thursday evening that Trump has already pivoted to former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi for the cabinet position. So, who is Pam Bondi, and will her path to confirmation be any simpler than that of Gaetz?
Who is Pam Bondi?
Pam Bondi has been a prominent figure in Republican circles for some time now and was elected attorney general in Florida in both 2010 and 2014. After serving the maximum two terms, she left in 2019 to help defend Trump in his first impeachment trial after he was accused of attempting to tie the offer of further military assistance for Ukraine with help in investigating Joe and Hunter Biden.
Bondi then continued her role as part of Trump’s legal team during the 2020 election before leaving to become the chair of the Center for Litigation at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank staffed with several former Trump administration officials. She resumed her role working more closely with Trump in the buildup to the 2024 election and spoke at one of his final rallies earlier this month.
The President-elect said of Bondi,
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans—Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”
And many of those she will have to convince in order to succeed where Gaetz did not seem to agree with Trump’s assessment.
Will Bondi be approved?
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) predicted that Bondi “will be confirmed quickly because she deserved to be confirmed quickly.” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) echoed those sentiments, stating that “She’ll be an incredible Attorney General.” Sen. Tommy Tubberville of Alabama and Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota were similarly effusive in their praise.
And while, as of this writing, the senators who led the charge against Gaetz’s approval have yet to comment, the prevailing opinion seems to be that Bondi will be confirmed. Should that happen, she will become yet another of Trump’s former and current allies to be given a prominent role in his Cabinet.
Of all the qualities that come up most frequently with Trump’s Cabinet picks, loyalty and trust seem to be among the most common. And it’s understandable why he would prize those characteristics, given the opposition he’s faced in the past. Yet, loyalty and trust are only valuable insofar as they enable someone to speak hard truths and be heard.
If Trump surrounds himself with people who will simply tell him what he wants to hear, he is likely to fail as president. However, if he surrounds himself with people who can deliver honest critiques in a way he can trust, he is set up to succeed.
And that same principle applies to each of us as well.
What kind of God are you looking for?
When you think about the inner circle of people who have the most influence on your life, how would you describe them? Are they people who tell you what you want to hear, or people you can trust to tell you what you need to hear?
And, even more importantly, when you go to God for guidance, which of those two outcomes are you most hoping for? Do you want a God that will affirm your desires or a God that will guide you to a life he can bless, even if it requires walking down some paths you would prefer not to tread?
I’m guessing most of us would like to say we want the latter relationship with the Lord, but is that truly reflected in the way you live? Do you surround yourself with people God can use to speak his truth into your life? And do you pray looking for a particular answer, or are you open to whatever the Lord wants to say?
Be honest in how you answer those questions, as there are few people more damaging to lie to than yourself.
So take some time today to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal which is true for you, even—and especially—if you may not want to hear his answer. Then make whatever changes are necessary to build a relationship with him and with others based on productive trust rather than empty loyalty.
Let’s start today.
Friday news to know:
*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.
Quote of the day:
“If we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and self-seeking and pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God, and I believe many a man is praying to God to fill him when he is full already with something else.” —DL Moody
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