Washington: US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday after months of strained relations and appointed his former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as the acting head of the Justice Department.
The announcement came through a social media post by Trump, who cited criticisms of Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and her failure to prosecute certain perceived political opponents as contributing factors to her dismissal.
“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in crime across our country.
”Trump added that Bondi “will be transitioning to a much-needed and important new job in the private sector.” In the interim, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, described by Trump as “a very talented and respected legal mind,” will lead the department.
Bondi, though a longtime ally of Trump, faced criticism from some supporters for her handling of the Justice Department’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
She also reportedly drew Trump’s ire by falling short in efforts to prosecute perceived Trump opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.According to reports from The New York Times, Trump may consider former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin, currently head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a potential permanent replacement for Bondi.
During her X post, Bondi described her tenure as attorney general as “the honor of a lifetime” and pledged to “continue fighting for President Trump” in her new private-sector role. “Over the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche,” she wrote.
Bondi’s departure comes nearly a month after Trump fired Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Democratic lawmakers welcomed Bondi’s dismissal, with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts calling it “good riddance” and criticizing her for blocking the release of the Epstein files.
Senator Dick Durbin, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Bondi’s legacy “will be the weaponization of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency for Donald Trump’s personal benefit.”Bondi joined Trump’s legal team during his first-term impeachment trial, during which he was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate.She later supported Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election and publicly pushed to delegitimize vote counts in key battleground states.
Bondi also appeared in solidarity with Trump during his New York trial, where he was convicted of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments.Before serving as Florida’s attorney general, Bondi worked as a prosecutor for 18 years. She was elected Florida’s first female attorney general in 2010 and reelected in 2014.
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