From attempts to prosecute president’s foes to claims of a cover-up, attorney general endured tumultuous tenure
Analysis: Bondi firing a reminder that even ultra-loyalists get dumped by Trump
Democrats cheer Trump’s firing of Pam Bondi and attack Epstein files ‘cover-up’
Donald TrumpfiredPam Bondi, the US attorney general, on Thursday, removing the nation’s chief law enforcement officer after months of mounting frustration over her handling of the Epstein files and her faltering attempts to prosecute the president’s political enemies.
“We love Pam, and 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,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday. He said she would be replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche, on an interim basis.
Here’s a look at her tenure as attorney general.
Days before Trump was inaugurated for a second term, Bondi appeared before the Senate judiciary committee for her confirmation hearing. There was little doubt that Bondi, a Trump loyalist and former attorney general of Florida, would be confirmed. She was Trump’s second choice for the job after his first, far more controversial pick, the former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz,stepped aside.
Pressed by Democrats, Bondi pledged then that she would not politicize the justice department or to pursue prosecutions “just for political purposes” as Trump campaigned on doing.
The US SenateconfirmedBondi in a 54-46 vote, largely along party lines. All Republicans voted to confirm and all but one Democratic senator, John Fetterman, voted against.
The following day, she was sworn in as the 87th attorney general of the United States. In an Oval Office ceremony, Trump praised Bondi as an “unbelievably fair and unbelievably good” legal mind. The conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas administered her oath of office. In brief remarks, Bondi pledged to “make America safe again”.
Shortly after taking office, Bondi issued a slew of memos announcing changes at the department, including one that warned DoJ attorneys against refusing to “zealously advance” legal arguments they disagree with. The move raised deep concerns among legal experts that the new attorney general was willing to set aside the department’s long-guarded independence in pursuit of the president’s agenda.
In a Fox Newsinterviewthat would come to haunt her tenure, Bondi said that a “client list” related to the late sex offenderJeffrey Epsteinwas “sitting on my desk right now to review”. The comment raised expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists who had speculated wildly about a list containing the names of clients to whom Epstein had trafficked underaged girls.
Days later, she presented a group of rightwing influencers and media personalities visiting the White House with binders, meant to signal her commitment to transparency regarding the investigation. But the move was widely criticized by both the left and right as a political stunt, with the binders mostly containing information that was already available publicly.
Beginning last spring, the justice department launched a sprawling effort to obtain unredacted citizen voter data, demanding states turn over sensitive and private data such as driver’s license and partial social security numbers for the purpose of enduring compliance with election laws. According to atallyby the Brennan Center for Justice, the DoJ has sought this information from at least 44 states and the District of Columbia. Most have refused to comply with the request, sparking a volley of legal action between states and the federal government.
Several federal courts have rejected the department’s lawsuits, with a federal judge in Californiawarningthat its bid to obtain the records “threatens the right to vote”.
