WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 11: Attorney General Pam Bondi delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House August 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Getty Images
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 11: Attorney General Pam Bondi delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House August 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Thursday fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, ending weeks of speculation that her tenure as Justice Department chief was nearing its end.
Trump announced the firing in a social media post on Truth Social, calling Bondi a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general, the president said.
“Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900,” Trump said.
Trump said that Bondi will be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job
Trump said that Bondi will be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” which will be announced at a “date in the near future.”
“Pam Bondi led this Department with strength and conviction and I’m grateful for her leadership and friendship,” Blanche said in a post on X. “Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General. We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe.”
Trump’s announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation, which made Bondi a target of conservative criticism despite her close relationship with the president. She also struggled to satisfy his demands to prosecute political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.
Bondi’s tenure was marked by intense turmoil, including the firings of career prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and the resignations of hundreds of other employees.
Her departure extends a pattern of Justice Department upheaval that has defined Trump’s presidency. Multiple attorneys general across his two terms have been pushed out or driven to resign after failing to meet his demands.
Trump often praised Bondi publicly but also showed flashes of impatience with her progress on
Trump often praised Bondi publicly but also showed flashes of impatience with her progress on prosecuting his rivals. In one extraordinary social media post last year, he urged her to move quickly against his foes, writing: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”
Bondi rejected accusations that she had politicized the DOJ, arguing her mission was to restore its credibility after what she called overreach by the Biden administration.
Her defenders credited her with refocusing the department on illegal immigration and violent crime, arguing she brought needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.
Bondi’s critics countered that she had weaponized the department at Trump’s behest.
“You’ve turned the People’s Department of Justice into Trump’s instrument of revenge,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said at a February hearing.
