President Donald Trump has fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, ending her 14-month tenure at the Justice Department amid growing frustration over her handling of files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and her failure to successfully prosecute figures Trump considered political enemies. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, formerly one of Trump’s personal defence lawyers, will serve as acting Attorney General.
Trump announced the departure on Truth Social, calling Bondi “a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend” who “did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country.” He added that she “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.” Bondi confirmed her exit on X, saying she would spend the next month transitioning the office to Blanche before moving to a private sector role she described as one she was “thrilled about.”
Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi in recent days, with sources saying that while he personally likes her, he does not believe she has executed on his vision in the way he wants. His frustrations centred on the DOJ’s failure to prosecute several of his political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom were indicted but had their cases thrown out after a judge ruled the prosecutor overseeing them was unlawfully appointed.
Bondi’s standing was further weakened by her handling of records related to Jeffrey Epstein. Last February, she suggested in a television interview that she had a long-rumoured Epstein client list, only to later clarify that no such list existed. The House Oversight Committee subsequently subpoenaed her to testify about the department’s handling of the files, though that deposition, scheduled for 14 April, is now under review following her removal.
Under Bondi, the Justice Department abandoned its decades-old tradition of independence from the White House, using its powers to pursue the president’s perceived political opponents, including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, California Senator Adam Schiff, and former intelligence officials James Clapper and John Brennan. The agency also fired prosecutors and FBI officials who had worked on Capitol riot cases or the Trump investigations, while the elite unit responsible for prosecuting public corruption was gutted.
Stacey Young, a former department attorney who now runs Justice Connection, said Bondi “took a sledgehammer to the Justice Department and its workforce,” adding that what she destroyed “in a year could take decades to rebuild.”
Trump is eyeing EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as a potential permanent replacement. Bondi is the second Cabinet member removed during Trump’s current term, following the dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March.
