President Donald Trump said Thursday is .
Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick.
It marks the end of a contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Departmentās culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican presidentās perceived enemies.
Here is the latest:
Itās quiet outside Bondiās home in South Tampa
The house sat silently in the upscale neighborhood on the cloudy but warm afternoon.
A breeze shifted an American flag that extended above the hedge surrounding the yard. There wasnāt other movement seen at the home or swarms of television crews vying for a view inside.
Black suburbanās lined the street, and the local police department drove past a few times.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna joins Massie in call for the next attorney general to release all Epstein files
The red and blue duo, Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, have mounted a pressure campaign on the Justice Department to release all the Epstein files.
Both are carrying that forward to whomever replaces Bondi, and are calling on the department to launch investigations based on the files.
āNow, we need to fight to make sure that another lawless sycophant doesnāt replace Bondi,ā said Khanna in a video posted to X Thursday. āWhoever replaces Bondi should release all of the Epstein files and prosecute the rich and powerful men who abuse young girls.ā
Bondi struggled to overcome fumbling the Epstein files
Bondi struggled to overcome early stumbles over the Epstein files that angered conservatives eager for government bombshells about the case.
She also had fed the conspiracy theory machine with a suggestion in a 2025 Fox News Channel interview that Epsteinās āclient listā was sitting on her desk for review. The department later acknowledged that no such document exists.
Bondi was ridiculed over a move to hand out to conservative influencers at the White House only for it to be later revealed that the documents included no new revelations. Despite promises that more files were going to become public, the Justice Department in July said no more would be released, prompting Congress to pass a bill to force the agency to do so.
The Justice Departmentās release of millions of pages of Epstein files did little to tamp down criticism, prompting a House committee to to answer questions under oath.
To some Epstein victims, the problem is bigger than Bondi
āThis is not about a single person; it is about a government and judicial system that has repeatedly failed Epstein survivors,ā one of Epsteinās earliest accusers, Annie Farmer, said in a statement.
āRegardless of who holds power, survivors deserve accountability, transparency, protection from retaliation, and assurance that those who enabled Epstein, Maxwell, and others will be investigated and, if appropriate, prosecuted,ā Farmer said.
Robert Glassman, an attorney for a woman who in the 2021 criminal trial of Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, noted that leaders of government agencies change.
āBut for victims of sexual abuse, what matters is whether the institutions meant to protect them actually do their job,ā Glassman said by email.
Epstein victimsā attorney says Bondiās departure might be the only justice they get
Gloria Allred, an attorney for numerous Epstein victims, called Bondiās departure ālong overdue,ā saying the now-departing attorney general betrayed them by failing to protect personal information in the files.
āShe has destroyed the trust in the DOJ that victims had a right to expect, and her termination may be the only type of justice that survivors will receive from the DOJ,ā Allred said by email.
One Epstein victimās view: Bondi had an āopportunity to be a hero .., and she chose not toā
Jess Michaels, an Epstein survivor who to press for the filesā release, wanted Bondi gone, but she wasnāt optimistic about what comes next at DOJ.
āIām happy that she is not in charge of this investigation anymore because she obviously failed. Do I think that the next person put in charge, Todd Blanche, is going to do any better? We can only hope. But given that they worked together, I donāt have great expectations,ā Michaels said.
When Bondi became attorney general and pledged transparency, Michaels thought, āWell, maybe a woman stepping into this role will finally finally get the truth,ā she recalled.
But once Bondi distributed now-infamous that proved to be largely rehashes of already public material, Michaels lost faith. Her mistrust was amplified by the DOJās of the eventual release of a trove of documents.
āI think she had this opportunity to be a hero and to really do right by survivors of sexual violence and trafficking, and she chose not to,ā Michaels said by phone. āIt is outrageous, the volume of miscalculation she has made.ā
Who is Lee Zeldin, the head of the EPA and Trumpās rumored pick to replace Bondi as attorney general?
Trump picked Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to be acting attorney general, but three people familiar with the matter have said he has as Bondiās permanent replacement.
Zeldin, before Trump tapped him to lead the environmental agency, was a Republican congressman from New York. A staunch ally of the president, he worked on Trumpās defense team during his first impeachment and voted against certifying Trumpās 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Under his leadership, the EPA has and proposed including of drinking water contaminates.
Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields troubled by Bondiās firing
Fields said Pam Bondiās firing was ādeeply troubling ā not because of who is leaving, but because of why.ā
Fields said in a statement that he has been critical of Bondiās handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files but āhere is what should alarm every American: reports indicate that Trumpās frustration stemmed not from Bondiās failure to uphold the law ā but from his belief that she didnāt weaponize the Justice Department aggressively enough against his political enemies.ā
He said politically motivated cases against former FBI-Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James had been thrown out.
āThe Justice Department is not the Presidentās personal law firm and shouldnāt be used as a tool for retribution.ā Fields said the issues of the files and the independence of the department should be addressed before anyone else is confirmed.
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who hounded the DOJ over the Epstein files, says he supports Bondiās ousting
The Kentucky Republican previously broke with his party to push legislation forcing the release of the Epstein files, and accused Bondi on X in January of making āillegal redactions and withholding key documents.ā
On Thursday, Massie said on X that he supported Trumpās decision, adding that āI hope the next AG will release all the Epstein files according to the law and follow up with investigations, prosecutions, and arrests.ā
Bondi says she is āthrilledā about new private sector role, expresses support for Trump
Bondi released a statement Thursday, which read:
āOver the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche before moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about, and where I will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration.
Leading President Trumpās historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime, and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history.
Since February 2025, we have secured the lowest murder rate in 125 years, secured first-ever terrorism convictions against members of Antifa, shattered domestic and transnational gangs across the country, taken custody of more than 90 key cartel figures, and won 24 favorable rulings at the Supreme Court.
I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again.ā
Democrats applaud Bondi firing, but say it wonāt reform DOJ
Democrats in Congress were celebrating the firing of the attorney general, whose appearance on Capitol Hill often featured bitter exchanges with Democratic lawmakers. But they also said that new leadership alone would not be enough to halt the Trump administrationās efforts to remake the Department of Justice to do his bidding.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that under Bondiās leadership, the Justice Department āhas lost centuries of professional experience, willfully violated federal law and judicial orders alikeā and added that her firing is ānot enough to restore the credibility of the Justice Department.ā
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Bondiās ālegacy will be the weaponization of the worldās preeminent law enforcement agency for Donald Trumpās personal benefit, but apparently even she didnāt go far enough to appease him.ā
Sen. Chuck Grassley said Judiciary Committee is ready to advance new Trump nominee
The Republican had only nice things to say about Bondi in an emailed statement, noting a drop in violent crime during her tenure and her Justice Departmentās responsiveness to congressional oversight requests.
āThe Judiciary Committee stands ready to advance President Trumpās next Attorney General nominee,ā Grassley said.
Will Pam Bondi still face a congressional subpoena?
The attorney general was facing a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 14 as lawmakers look into how the Department of Justice handled the release of the case files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, said in a statement that he would survey Republicans on the committee on whether they still wanted to enforce the subpoena.
Democrats quickly called on the committee to follow through on the subpoena. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement that Bondi āwill not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath.ā
Mace still expects Bondi to appear for April 14 deposition over the release of the Epstein files
Bondi was to appear before the Republican-led Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and face questions over the Justice Departmentās sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and release of the related files.
Mace, who sits on the committee, said in a statement Thursday that Bondi āwill be appearingā in two weeks because the āDOJ still hasnāt complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.ā
Bondiās public embrace of the president marked a sharp departure from her predecessors
Past attorney generals generally took pains to maintain an armās-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions.
But Bondi postured herself as , praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.
She called for an end to the āweaponizationā of law enforcement that she said occurred under the Biden administration, though her critics said she was the one who had politicized the agency to do the presidentās bidding.
Bondiās ousting follows a turbulent release of the Epstein files
The Justice Departmentās review and release of Epstein files frustrated members of Congress, who accused the department of hiding certain documents, over-redacting files and, in other cases, failing to redact sensitive information about the victims.
The department denied that it redacted documents in order to protect people and that it improperly withheld certain material. Still, it caused a series of headaches for the Trump administration.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche thanks Trump and compliments Bondi
āThank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General,ā Blanche wrote in a post on X, after saying that Bondi led the department with āstrength and conviction.ā
āWe will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe,ā Blanche said.
Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will become the acting head of the Justice Department, who is he?
Blanche is a former federal prosecutor who worked as Trumpās criminal defense attorney in two cases brought by the department under President Joe Bidenās administration.
He was also a key figure on the presidentās defense team in the hush money case against Trump in New York.
Blanche became second in command behind Bondi at the Justice Department last year.
Trump says Attorney General Pam Bondi will leave the Department of Justice
āWe love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,ā Trump said in a post on Truth Social, after saying sheās been a āloyal friend.ā
Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general.
Rep. Mace welcomes Bondiās ousting
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, in response to earlier reports that President Donald Trump was considering ousting Attorney General Pam Bondi, said in a statement Thursday: āI welcome it.ā
āBondi handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and seriously undermined President Trump,ā said Mace in the statement, whose long been critical of the justice department over the release and review of the Jefferey Epstein files.
Trump says Pam Bondi, a loyalist who oversaw Justice Department upheaval, is out as attorney general
President Donald Trump said Thursday that is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Departmentās culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican presidentās perceived enemies.
The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Departmentās handling of that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trumpās demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.
The former Florida attorney general last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the presidentās political and personal agenda.
ā¶
JUST IN: Trump says Pam Bondi, a loyalist who oversaw Justice Department upheaval, is out as his attorney general
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
