Photo Credit:Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her position. Trump announced on Truth Social that Bondi, a strong ally, would transition to a role in the private sector. Her former deputy, Todd Blanche, will replace her. This marks the second departure of a high profile Trump administration official in recent weeks, following Kristi Noem’s removal as homeland security chief in March. Bondi's time leading the justice department was often overshadowed by its handling of the release of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein and its investigation into the convicted sex offender.
Bondi said she would be working tirelessly to transfer her work to Blanche, adding that the job had been the honour of a lifetime. Bondi added that in her new private sector position - which she did not identify - she would continue fighting for President Trump and this administration. The announcement comes less than two months after a combative congressional hearing in which Bondi was peppered with questions from lawmakers - at times descending into shouting matches in which she called one Democrat a washed up loser
As recently as Thursday morning, Trump was defending Bondi, saying. She is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job. But hours later, Trump confirmed her departure on Truth Social, saying that her new private sector role would be announced at a date in the near future The news was first broken by Fox.
Trump lauded Bondi's performance as attorney general in his post, saying she had done a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in crime across our country. But Trump reportedly had grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi, in particular over her handling of the Epstein files.
When she was sworn into the post in February 2025, she vowed transparency on the Epstein case and promised to release an alleged client list associated with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019. The department later said no such list existed.
In the end, millions of files related to Epstein were released, but under pressure - including from Trump supporters - and only after Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Justice to make unclassified records public.
