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Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke to reporters after a briefing on March 18, 2026.
(Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
'Good Riddance,' Say Democrats as Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi
"She will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our committee under oath," said the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
Apr 02, 2026
US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday after reportedly growing frustrated by her failure to pursue his political enemies with sufficient zeal and her handling of the Epstein files.
Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post that Bondi is out as attorney general and will be moving to an "important new job in the private sector." The president said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, will replace Bondi in an interim capacity as the White House considers its options for a permanent replacement. Lee Zeldin, a Trump loyalist who currently heads the Environmental Protection Agency, has been floated as a leading candidate.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement responding to Bondi's ouster that "she will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our committee under oath," referring to a subpoena the panel approved last month.
"Bondi has been leading a White House cover-up of the Epstein files. She has weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities," said Garcia. "Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken."
In her response to the news, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pointed to Bondi's refusal to apologize to Epstein victims whose identities were exposed in the Justice Department's disclosures, which Democrats said were rolled out and redacted in a way that protected the powerful—including Trump himself.
"Bondi called apologizing to the Epstein survivors getting into the 'gutter,'" Jayapal wrote Thursday. "Good riddance."
Politico reported ahead of Bondi's removal that she "has been under pressure since last summer over her ill-fated handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files inquiry, with even close ally Susie Wiles admitting Bondi 'completely whiffed' her response."
Trump also publicly complained late last year that Bondi was not being aggressive enough in trying to prosecute the president's political opponents.
"Pam," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in September. "I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, 'same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.'"
Following Trump's post, the Justice Department pursued charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but a federal judge tossed the cases in November.
“No one can be loyal enough. No one can punish Trump’s enemies fast enough," Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said Thursday. "Pam Bondi took the DOJ in a lawless, non-independent, shameful direction, and the institution of justice has suffered as a result. Bondi has trivialized the DOJ, the sanctity of law, and the attorney general position."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that under Bondi's leadership, the Justice Department was "handing out merger approvals as political favors."
"Under AG Pam Bondi, the DOJ became a cesspool of corruption," Warren wrote on social media. "Good riddance."
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US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday after reportedly growing frustrated by her failure to pursue his political enemies with sufficient zeal and her handling of the Epstein files.
Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post that Bondi is out as attorney general and will be moving to an "important new job in the private sector." The president said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, will replace Bondi in an interim capacity as the White House considers its options for a permanent replacement. Lee Zeldin, a Trump loyalist who currently heads the Environmental Protection Agency, has been floated as a leading candidate.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement responding to Bondi's ouster that "she will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our committee under oath," referring to a subpoena the panel approved last month.
"Bondi has been leading a White House cover-up of the Epstein files. She has weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities," said Garcia. "Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken."
In her response to the news, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pointed to Bondi's refusal to apologize to Epstein victims whose identities were exposed in the Justice Department's disclosures, which Democrats said were rolled out and redacted in a way that protected the powerful—including Trump himself.
"Bondi called apologizing to the Epstein survivors getting into the 'gutter,'" Jayapal wrote Thursday. "Good riddance."
Politico reported ahead of Bondi's removal that she "has been under pressure since last summer over her ill-fated handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files inquiry, with even close ally Susie Wiles admitting Bondi 'completely whiffed' her response."
Trump also publicly complained late last year that Bondi was not being aggressive enough in trying to prosecute the president's political opponents.
"Pam," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in September. "I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, 'same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.'"
Following Trump's post, the Justice Department pursued charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but a federal judge tossed the cases in November.
“No one can be loyal enough. No one can punish Trump’s enemies fast enough," Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said Thursday. "Pam Bondi took the DOJ in a lawless, non-independent, shameful direction, and the institution of justice has suffered as a result. Bondi has trivialized the DOJ, the sanctity of law, and the attorney general position."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that under Bondi's leadership, the Justice Department was "handing out merger approvals as political favors."
"Under AG Pam Bondi, the DOJ became a cesspool of corruption," Warren wrote on social media. "Good riddance."
US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday after reportedly growing frustrated by her failure to pursue his political enemies with sufficient zeal and her handling of the Epstein files.
Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post that Bondi is out as attorney general and will be moving to an "important new job in the private sector." The president said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, will replace Bondi in an interim capacity as the White House considers its options for a permanent replacement. Lee Zeldin, a Trump loyalist who currently heads the Environmental Protection Agency, has been floated as a leading candidate.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement responding to Bondi's ouster that "she will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our committee under oath," referring to a subpoena the panel approved last month.
"Bondi has been leading a White House cover-up of the Epstein files. She has weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities," said Garcia. "Oversight Democrats have been leading serious investigations into Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken."
In her response to the news, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pointed to Bondi's refusal to apologize to Epstein victims whose identities were exposed in the Justice Department's disclosures, which Democrats said were rolled out and redacted in a way that protected the powerful—including Trump himself.
"Bondi called apologizing to the Epstein survivors getting into the 'gutter,'" Jayapal wrote Thursday. "Good riddance."
Politico reported ahead of Bondi's removal that she "has been under pressure since last summer over her ill-fated handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files inquiry, with even close ally Susie Wiles admitting Bondi 'completely whiffed' her response."
Trump also publicly complained late last year that Bondi was not being aggressive enough in trying to prosecute the president's political opponents.
"Pam," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in September. "I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, 'same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.'"
Following Trump's post, the Justice Department pursued charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but a federal judge tossed the cases in November.
“No one can be loyal enough. No one can punish Trump’s enemies fast enough," Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said Thursday. "Pam Bondi took the DOJ in a lawless, non-independent, shameful direction, and the institution of justice has suffered as a result. Bondi has trivialized the DOJ, the sanctity of law, and the attorney general position."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that under Bondi's leadership, the Justice Department was "handing out merger approvals as political favors."
"Under AG Pam Bondi, the DOJ became a cesspool of corruption," Warren wrote on social media. "Good riddance."
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