Data guru: Trump’s firing of Pam Bondi is popular — but there’s 1 big problem CNN’s Harry Enten said that President Donald Trump’s administration will still face scrutiny over the Justice Department’s release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Data guru: Trump’s firing of Pam Bondi is popular — but there’s 1 big problem CNN’s Harry Enten said that President Donald Trump’s administration will still face scrutiny over the Justice Department’s release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Americans are saying “thank God” that Attorney General Pam Bondi is departing, according to CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten — but President Donald Trump is not entirely in the clear on one issue.
While speaking on CNN on Friday, Enten revealed that Bondi’s net popularity has dropped by 12 percentage points since January 2025, with it now standing at a net negative 19%. He described her as an “in-law who stayed too late past Christmas vacation.”
“The more people got to knew Pam Bondi, the less they liked her,” Enten said, pointing to her handling of the Justice Department’s release of investigative files tied to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Enten said that Trump may have seen how Bondi is “wearing” on his administration — compared to how former Attorney General Merrick Garland, meanwhile, was more liked at the same point during his predecessor’s presidency. According to Enten’s aggregate data and Gallup, Garland held a net popularity of positive 6%.
But while calling her “bye, bye Bondi,” Enten said the Epstein saga will continue to
But while calling her “bye, bye Bondi,” Enten said the Epstein saga will continue to be a “big problem” for Trump.
At a negative 40%, according to Enten, it is “by far the worst issue for Donald Trump of major issues,” including immigration, foreign policy and the economy.
“So the bottom line is this: the Epstein case is not going away if you’re Donald Trump, even if Pam Bondi is going away,” Enten said. “The Epstein case is going to continue to weigh on the president of the United States.”
Trump announced Thursday that Bondi would be leaving her position as attorney general, capping her 14-month tenure as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
While she will move to a “much needed and important new job” in the private sector, the president said, he has tapped Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to take over her role in the interim.
During an appearance on Fox News late Thursday, host Jesse Watters pressed Blanche on whether
During an appearance on Fox News late Thursday, host Jesse Watters pressed Blanche on whether he approved of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files. The DOJ has made approximately 3.5 million pages publicly available online since December — though many Democrats and a handful of GOP lawmakers have accused the department of failing to release all documents in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Blanche staunchly defended Bondi, arguing that her ousting was not connected to the files.
“I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward,” Blanche said.
Bondi’s departure — the second Cabinet member to be fired by Trump in recent weeks, after the removal of Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary — came amid reports that the president had grown frustrated with her over the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein case and her failure to prosecute more of his political foes.
A number of Democrats have also called on Bondi to still testify on Capitol Hill later this month, after the House Oversight Committee sent her a subpoena over the DOJ’s investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019.
