Trump removes Pam Bondi as attorney general

Pam Bondi is leaving as U.S. attorney general and will move to a private-sector job, President Trump said, making her the second Cabinet official to be removed this month. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will take over as acting attorney general.

Trump announced the change on Thursday, praising Bondi as a “Great American Patriot” and saying she had “faithfully served” as attorney general over the past year. He said Bondi would transition to “a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” which he said would be announced later.

Bondi said she would spend the next month helping hand over the Justice Department to Blanche before moving into what she described as an important private-sector role. She said she would “continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration.”

“Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Blanche said in a social media post. “We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe.”

Bondi is the second Cabinet official to leave Trump’s administration this month, after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, accused Bondi of helping cover up the Epstein files and said she is still legally required to appear before the committee under oath in two weeks.

Garcia said Bondi must answer questions about her handling of the Epstein files and what he described as special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell.