Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was named chairwoman of the executive committee of the Republican Attorneys General Association as the group met this weekend at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

Bondi, who has been under scrutiny recently because of news reports detailing how Washington lobbyists have sought to influence state attorneys general across the country, said in a prepared statement that the selection is an "honor," coming at "such a critical time in our country's history."

"We will continue to stand up for the rule of law and protect the citizens of our states,” Bondi said in a release from the association.

Bondi was easily re-elected to a second term by Florida voters earlier this month. Reports by The New York Times and the Tampa Bay Times have raised questions about some of Bondi's association-funded travel and whether she has been influenced by lobbyists.

Several newspaper editorial boards have also questioned Bondi's judgment, including an editorial from the Pensacola News Journal that called her relationships with lobbyists "a clear dereliction of her duty and a perversion of the law that she's supposed to uphold."

Last week, Bondi defended herself, saying, "No lobbyist, no person, no corporation, no individual, will ever compromise what we do in our office regarding unfair and deceptive trade practices, nor how we protect the consumers in the state of Florida."

The Republican Attorneys General Association, which receives funding from corporations, also defended the travel.

"Like all national political organizations, RAGA pays for expenses for its member attorneys general that attend meetings to help with national fundraising," Jessica Medeiros Garrison, RAGA executive director said in an email last Wednesday.

"RAGA does this in full compliance with federal and state laws that regulate fundraising and political activity for RAGA and its member attorneys general."