After conducting a nationwide search for an Attorney General, President John F. Kennedy selected his brother. Even though Governor Phil Murphy does not have a brother who is a New Jersey lawyer, many speculate that he now regrets not following Kennedy’s example.
Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill doesn’t have a brother either, but she did assemble an extraordinary team of talented lawyers during her campaign—professionals who believed in her candidacy and advanced her agenda. She would be well advised to begin her search for an Attorney General right there.
When it comes to selecting an Attorney General—or any top cabinet official—there may be no better lesson than the stark contrast between President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden and Merrick Garland
Joe Biden chose one of the most respected attorneys in the country. Merrick Garland graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General under President Carter, and became a partner at Arnold & Porter. He later served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama.
Garland was widely viewed as brilliant, fair-minded, and independent. But his administrative, political, and real-world executive experience was limited, and there is no evidence that he had a close personal relationship with Biden. His independence from politics was precisely what Biden wanted in 2021.
Yet many now argue that Garland’s cautious, deliberate approach to prosecuting Donald Trump helped pave the way for Trump’s return. By waiting too long to bring charges, Garland left Trump’s legal team with one task: run out the clock. They did.
Donald Trump and Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi graduated from Stetson University College of Law and went on to become Florida’s Attorney General. She possessed strong communication skills and built a national profile through frequent appearances on Fox News.
In contrast to Garland, Bondi’s legal and political career was steeped in traditional Republican causes. After leaving office, she worked with Ballard Partners, whose clients included Qatar, Amazon, Uber, and General Motors.
Bondi’s relationship with Trump reaches back at least to 2013, when she received a campaign contribution from him. She later served as a prominent defender of Trump during his first impeachment and spoke on his behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention. Her loyalty to Trump has never been in doubt—his critics dubbed her his “attack dog,” but she has remained steadfastly aligned with him.
Whether history will judge her tenure as Attorney General kindly is yet to be determined. What is clear is that there was no daylight between Bondi and Trump.
The Role of the Attorney General
At both the state and federal levels, the attorney general is a central member of the executive team. In 43 states, the attorney general is elected by the public. New Jersey is one of the few where the attorney general is appointed by the governor—subject to State Senate confirmation—much like the federal model.
The New Jersey Attorney General represents the state and its agencies in court, issues formal opinions, oversees high-profile criminal prosecutions, and brings civil actions on behalf of the state. In all these roles, alignment between the governor and the attorney general is critical. A governor who appoints a like-minded attorney general avoids unnecessary conflict and ensures a unified policy agenda.
Selecting a loyal attorney general isn’t about cronyism, it’s about ensuring stability, coherence, and effective governance.
A Lesson from John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy had an entire nation of qualified attorneys to choose from. His campaign was filled with brilliant lawyers who could have performed admirably as Attorney General. Yet he appointed his brother, who had never tried a case and whose only client had been the U.S. Congress.
Kennedy later joked about his choice in a Time magazine interview shortly after his inauguration: “I can’t see that it’s wrong to give him a little legal experience before he goes out to practice law.”
History proved him right: Robert F. Kennedy became one of the most consequential Attorneys General in American history.
