President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, has vowed to lead a Justice Department free of political influence and mismanagement if confirmed - using Wednesday's confirmation hearing to ease concerns about the She may use the position to pursue Trump's concerns. Called “the enemy” or otherwise weaponized the Department of Justice.

For weeks, Bondi has been doing the same thing behind closed doors — meeting with nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan charm offensive designed to head off any unexpected contacts and ensure a smooth confirmation.

As of Wednesday, that cautious strategy appeared to be paying off, with even Democrats on the panel praising the former Florida attorney general because of their earlier private one-on-one meeting.

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“I had a great meeting with her,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told POLITICO after the hearing on Wednesday.

Bondi addressed members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as her confirmation began, emphasizing her early dream of becoming a prosecutor — a dream she said came true almost immediately upon entering law school.

“From the moment I interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida, all I wanted to do was be a prosecutor,” Bundy said, noting she experienced four jury trials during law school. “I lost most of it,” she laughs, but still “didn’t want to do anything else.”

"If confirmed," Bondi continued, her tone turning serious, "I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity in the Department of Justice and its various components."

She also vowed to work closely with the Judiciary Committee, building on the relationships she established with her Senate office ahead of Wednesday's hearing.

Trump's Democratic critics wasted little time during the hearing detailing their concerns about Bondi's confirmation and her ability to guide the Justice Department in the face of a willful and sometimes seemingly impulsive president-elect; Many people directly approached her with the names of her future exes who tried and failed to do the same thing.

They questioned her willingness to go after political "enemies" and asked her to believe certain statements by Trump's FBI nominee Kash Patel.

But during Wednesday's hearing, except for a 30-minute lunch break, Bundy appeared calm and mostly collected. The hearing lasted more than 5 hours.

She highlighted her record as Florida's top prosecutor in fighting violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking and outlined her broader vision for leading the Justice Department, emphasizing her desire to lead a department free of political influence.

Bundy's former colleagues told Fox News Digital that if confirmed, they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington — this time to combat drug trafficking, the illegal use of fentanyl and those responsible for smuggling drugs of cartels crossing the border.

However, it remains to be seen whether this approach will be successful.

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Sunshine State Endorsement

In a series of interviews and letters previewed exclusively by Fox News Digital, those who worked with Bundy during her decades-long prosecutorial career described her as an experienced and aggressive prosecutor. , her record has proven to be more about consensus-building than bridge-burning. .

Democrat Dave Aronberger, who is challenging Bundy in his race for Florida attorney general, said in a Fox News Digital interview that when Bundy called him after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar , he was shocked - they would take on this role to work together to combat the state's opioid crisis - one of the office's most important and enduring efforts.

In an interview, he praised her as "most responsible for eliminating destructive drug mills in Florida," citing her push for statewide legislation and her work implementing Florida's "Statewide Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Roadmap" to coordinate federal , among other actions, state and local efforts to address the opioid crisis.

At the time, the Sunshine State was at the center of America's opioid crisis, home to an abundance of "pill mills" and cash-only clinics and the lack of a statewide prescription law that would have allowed largely unrestricted purchases of addictive drugs. .

Arenberg said in an interview that after Bundy took office, opioids were killing about seven people a day. He said that at the time there were "more pain clinics than McDonald's locations" in Florida, illustrating the scale of the problem. Bondi has made clear that if confirmed as U.S. attorney general, she plans to continue focusing on fighting illegal drugs — albeit on a national scale.

Her other record in Florida was highlighted Wednesday, including consumer protection victories and financial relief obtained by then-Florida Attorney General Bondi on behalf of residents of the Sunshine State.

She led the national mortgage settlement effort after the 2008 financial crisis that resulted in $56 billion in compensation for victims, and Bundy's lawsuit against BP and other responsible companies in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. $2 billion in financial relief settlement.

Those questions are likely to be a focus of Thursday's hearing, the second day of Bundy's two-day confirmation, which will focus on testimony from others who worked with her over the years.

National praise

In the weeks leading up to Bondi's hearing, dozens of former state attorneys general and more than 100 former senior Justice Department officials urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Bondi's nomination, praising her experience in the role and commitment to the rule of law.

The letter from former Justice Department officials was written by senior officials who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, as well as former U.S. Attorneys General John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Signed by Bill Barr and Edwin Meese, they noted: "This is so rare for senior officials. Justice Department officials — not to mention the attorney general — are defending us. So much experience working in community safety on a day-to-day basis.”

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The letter also praised what officials called Bundy's "national reputation" for his work in ending human trafficking and prosecuting violent crime in the state.

Recently, Bondi also won the support of 60 former state attorneys general. The delegation included Democratic and Republican attorneys general, who praised Bondi for her extensive prosecutorial experience, including her time as Florida's top prosecutor, which they said made her particularly qualified for the position.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to reconvene at 10:15 a.m. Thursday to hear from a panel of outside witnesses on Bondi's qualifications to serve as attorney general.