US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the removal of Pam Bondi as attorney general, the nation's chief law enforcement officer.
"We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general, Trump said, referring to his former personal attorney.
According to media reports, Trump was said to be frustrated that Bondi had not done enough to prosecute individuals he views as opponents, such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump praised Bondi as a "Great American Patriot and a loyal friend."
He highlighted her "tremendous job" over the past year, praising her oversight of a "massive crackdown in crime across our country," which he said contributed to murders reaching their lowest levels since 1900.
Bondi said she will work towards transitioning the office to her deputy and that she is "thrilled" about her new role in the private sector.
"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," she added.
Blanche, for his part, thanked Trump for his trust in him to head the Justice Department in an acting capacity.
"We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe," he said on the US social media company X's platform.
Bondi becomes the second senior Trump official to depart in recent weeks, after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was removed on March 5 amid concerns over her management of the department and Trump's immigration agenda.
During her tenure, Bondi has attracted criticism over a number of issues, including the Justice Department's handling of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein under her watch, to insulting and disdainful testimony to Congress last month.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer welcomed Bondi's removal from the post.
"Good riddance. Pam Bondi was the wrong choice from the start," Schumer said on X.
"But the rot at the Department of Justice begins and ends with Donald Trump. As long as his focus is on using DOJ as a tool for revenge and not law enforcement, the cover up of the Epstein files, along with the countless other problems at DOJ, will continue."
According to media reports, one of the prominent issues cited was Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, which turned into a political liability for Trump among his followers.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also hailed Bondi's removal.
"Pam Bondi has been fired. Good riddance," Jeffries said on X, also predicting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be "next."
While Trump reportedly is unhappy that Bondi did not go after his enemies with enough vigor or success, critics of Bondi say she had turned the Justice Department from a nonpartisan Cabinet department into a private law firm serving the president's political aims.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Bondi can still testify over her handling of the Epstein files, which Democrats say were released in a piecemeal and overly redacted fashion, violating the law.
"Attorney General Pam Bondi has been leading a White House cover-up of the Epstein files," Garcia said in a statement.
Garcia said Bondi "weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm's way by exposing their identities," referring to the names of victims of Epstein being published in some of the released files, though the law said they should be protected.
He stressed that Bondi remains legally obligated to appear before the committee.
"She will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath. She must answer for her mishandling of the Epstein files and the special treatment she has given Ghislaine Maxwell," he said, referring to Epstein's associate and onetime girlfriend, also convicted of sexual assault, who last year was moved to a minimum-security prison with no reason given, after an interview with Blanche.
The statement also referenced investigations into Noem, saying that dismissals of senior officials will not halt oversight efforts by Democrats.
"If they think we are moving on because they were fired, they are gravely mistaken," Garcia said.
