Trump Fires AG Pam Bondi After Repeated Epstein Blunders: Reports
Bondi’s ouster at the Justice Department comes after facing backlash for her embarrassing court losses and botched handling of the Epstein files.
Pam Bondi, who served as President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Justice Department for his second term, is out as attorney general, multiple outlets reported Thursday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will become acting attorney general, a person familiar with the plans told The New York Times.
Bondi’s tenure as attorney general will be remembered as one in which she stayed loyal to the president, seen most apparent in her handling of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The attorney general was steadfast in childishly defending the DOJ’s lack of transparency around documents related to the late child sex abuser — and Trump himself at times.
But the president reportedly grew frustrated with the department’s botched handling of the case under Bondi. He also has publicly complained before that the attorney general was not aggressive enough in prosecuting his perceived political enemies.
Despite the rumors of her impending ouster, Trump still praised the attorney general on Wednesday as “my friend.”
It’s unclear who Trump will pick to replace Bondi, though he has reportedly floated the idea of choosing Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York and the current administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.
