US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has chosen Pam Bondi, a member of his 2020 US Senate trial defense team, to take over the Justice Department after Republican Rep. Matt Gates retires.

“I am honored to announce that former Florida State Attorney General Pam Bondi will be our next Attorney General,” said Mr. Trump via Truth Social, a social networking site of his personal creation, hours after the controversial Mr. Gates, to which leaders of the faction reacted strongly.

“For too long, the Justice Department has been instrumentalized against me and other Republicans. Not anymore,” he added.

After leaving her Florida post in 2019, Ms Bondi, 59, a former prosecutor, joined Donald Trump’s legal team during his impeachment trial.

In the trial, the then-president was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a telephone conversation for Kiev to begin an investigation against the son of Joe Biden, his opponent in the 2020 presidential election, in exchange for critical military assistance.

Ms Bondi was also part of the team of lawyers who unsuccessfully challenged the outcome of the November 2020 election, in which Mr. Trump was defeated by Mr. Biden.