President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, sources say, after becoming increasingly dissatisfied with what he viewed as her lack of aggressiveness in pursuing his political opponents and her management of the Justice Department’s review of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Trump announced the move on Truth Social, saying Bondi will take “an important new job in the private sector.” He named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general while the White House considers a permanent replacement. Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, now said to be leading the Environmental Protection Agency, has been mentioned as a top candidate.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Bondi “will not escape accountability” and remains legally required to testify under oath in response to a subpoena the committee approved last month. Garcia accused Bondi of overseeing “a White House cover-up of the Epstein files,” and alleged she “weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pointed to Bondi’s refusal to apologize to Epstein survivors whose identities were revealed in Justice Department disclosures that Democrats say were redacted to shield powerful figures, including Trump. Jayapal quoted Bondi as calling apologizing to the survivors getting into the “gutter,” and added, “Good riddance.”
Politico reported Bondi had been under pressure since last summer, with allies privately criticizing her handling of the Epstein inquiry. The outlet noted Trump had publicly complained late last year that Bondi was not vigorous enough in going after perceived political enemies, posting in September that many observers saw “all talk, no action.”
Following that post, the Justice Department brought charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James; those cases were dismissed by a federal judge in November.
Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert condemned Bondi’s tenure, saying the DOJ under her leadership “took the DOJ in a lawless, non-independent, shameful direction” and “trivialized the DOJ, the sanctity of law, and the attorney general position.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused the department of granting merger approvals as political favors and called it “a cesspool of corruption.”
This article was originally published by Common Dreams and is republished under a Creative Commons license.
Separately, the Daily Mail, citing an unnamed “senior Trump administration source,” reported that Trump believed Bondi had tipped off Rep. Eric Swalwell about FBI efforts to release documents tied to his alleged relationship with Christine Fang, an alleged Chinese spy. That account says Bondi intervened because of a friendly relationship with Swalwell; the report was carried with commentary by Asia Times editors noting the claim’s circulation but not confirming the details.
