Brad Bondi, the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi, overwhelmingly lost his bid to lead the D.C. Bar Association in a race with record turnout, the organization announced Monday.
Bondi, who is global co-chair of the law firm Paul Hastings’s investigations and white-collar defense practice, earned just 3,490 votes, or 9.1 percent, in the D.C. Bar’s presidential election. His opponent, employment lawyer Diane Seltzer, won 34,982 votes, or 90.9 percent.
The association does not decide attorney discipline matters, but critics of President Trump raised alarm that an attempted takeover by his allies was underway, as tensions between the White House and the legal profession reach stratospheric heights.
Seltzer, who runs an eponymous employment law firm and was endorsed by nearly two dozen former D.C. Bar Association presidents, begins her term as president-elect next month, on July 1, and her term as president begins on July 1, 2026.
The D.C. Bar is the largest unified bar in the country, with roughly 121,000 members. As concern about his effort to lead the group mounted, Bondi vowed to ensure the group would remain nonpartisan.
“The D.C. Bar is not, and must not become, a political organization,” he said in a candidate statement that emphasized a desire to see stronger participation in the D.C. Bar and improved technology as touchpoints of his campaign.
In the past, Bondi represented billionaire Elon Musk and Tesla, the Trump Media & Technology Group and a group linked to YouTuber MrBeast in its bid to purchase TikTok.
“I will fight vigorously against any attempts externally or internally to change that,” the statement continued.
The Hill has reached out to Bondi for further comment.
Alicia Long, a top deputy to interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, also lost her bid for treasurer, earning 8,854 votes, or 25.1 percent of ballots cast. Cybersecurity lawyer Amanda Molina won that race with 26,380 votes, or 74.9 percent.
D.C. Bar CEO Robert Spagnoletti said on a press call Monday afternoon that the election saw record engagement from D.C. Bar members.
Over the past 50 years, the average number of ballots cast in an election was 7,444. This year, some 38,646 votes were cast in the race, or 43.26 percent of all eligible voters, he said.
He called the turnout, “to say the least, extraordinary.”
“Dozens of D.C. Bar members put themselves forward for leadership positions during the call for nominations, and each candidate on the slate is very well qualified to serve in a leadership role,” Spagnoletti said on the call, where he emphasized the “apolitical” nature of the group.