Pam Bondi was until now attorney general
US President Donald Trump fired Pam Bondi as attorney general, a source close to the process revealed to CNN. According to the same source, Pam Bondi will be replaced, for now, by Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Trump had spoken in recent days with allies about the possibility of firing Bondi and spoke personally with the prosecutor about this possibility on Wednesday, according to CNN. A source told CNN that this conversation was “harsh” and that Trump told Bondi that he would not remain in office much longer and that he would replace her in the near future.
According to the same sources, Bondi was told that he would be given a different role later. Two sources said that, in the conversation, Trump suggested the possibility of appointing her a judge after his departure from the Justice Department.
Bondi was present at Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday.
According to multiple sources, Trump has expressed frustration with Bondi on several occasions. In particular, the president is unhappy with the way Bondi handled the processes relating to Jeffrey Epstein and was also outraged that the prosecutor had not sufficiently investigated or prosecuted his political opponents.
One of the issues that has caught Trump’s attention is an investigation into whether former CIA Director John Brennan made false statements to Congress about a several-year-old Secret Service assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Career prosecutors in Miami have told Justice Department officials they do not consider the case solid, but are continuing to work toward possible charges in federal court in Washington, D.C., as CNN has previously reported.
Bondi summoned the Miami attorney general responsible for the investigation to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to discuss the progress of the case and her belief that the investigation was being delayed, according to a source close to the matter.
Some sources indicate that the meeting was seen by some members of the Justice Department as an attempt to show that Bondi continues to carry out investigations that are a priority for the president.
The lack of success in executing Trump’s desired retaliation campaign was not always due to a lack of effort. The Justice Department had secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but both were dismissed after a judge ruled the prosecutor was acting illegally.
Although Todd Blanche will assume leadership of the department for now, sources revealed to CNN that Trump is considering replacing Bondi with Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, with other names also being considered. In a statement Wednesday, responding to reports that Trump had considered replacing Bondi, the president said: “Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and is doing a good job.”
The possibility of replacing Bondi with Zeldin first surfaced in January but eventually dwindled as coverage of the Epstein case faded from the news. But rumors that Trump wanted to replace Bondi with Zeldin began circulating again on Monday. And in recent days, according to multiple sources, Bondi privately asked her colleagues if they thought it was true that her job was at risk, indicating that she was unsure of her standing with the president.
Some members of Trump’s inner circle had long been unhappy with Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, believing that her statements on the matter contributed to giving the impression that the administration was improperly withholding documents from the public.
Many were frustrated, in particular, by the fact that Bondi claimed, in a Fox News interview in February 2025, that a list of Epstein’s clients was “actually” on his desk “for review.” The department later stated that no such list existed. Bondi then clarified that he was referring to all documentation related to the Epstein investigation, such as flight logs, and not a specific list of clients.
Bondi faces a subpoena from the House of Representatives Oversight Committee to testify about the Epstein case later this month. When he voluntarily appeared before the panel in mid-March, Democratic lawmakers left the room after half an hour. But Republicans remained and asked questions, and GOP Chairman James Comer later said he no longer saw a need for her to return and testify under oath.
“Personally, I don’t see any reason for her to give a statement”; said the Kentucky Republican at the time.
In recent weeks, Bondi has been spending more time with Trump, accompanying him to the Supreme Court for oral arguments in the birthright citizenship case on Wednesday. This is an opposite approach to that taken by other senior officials in the first Trump administration, who reduced the time they spent with the president when they realized he was becoming dissatisfied with his work.
