UPDATED 12:18 P.M.
WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post on Thursday, a White House official said, following mounting frustration with her performance, including her handling of investigative files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump had also reportedly grown frustrated that Bondi was not moving quickly enough to prosecute critics and adversaries who he wanted to face criminal charges.
During her tenure as the top U.S. law enforcement official, Bondi was a combative champion of Trump’s agenda and dismantled the Justice Department’s longstanding tradition of independence from the White House in its investigations.
But it was repeated criticism over the Epstein files, including from Trump allies and some Republican lawmakers, that came to dominate her tenure. Bondi was accused of covering up or mismanaging the release of records on the DOJ’s sex trafficking investigations into Epstein, a financier who cultivated ties with an array of wealthy and powerful figures.
The issue created political headaches for Trump and drew renewed scrutiny of his past friendship with Epstein, which he has said ended decades ago.
Her ouster could lead to a shake-up in strategy at the Justice Department and potentially a renewed push to deploy the U.S. legal system against Trump’s targets.
Bondi is the second senior Trump official to be ousted recently. Trump removed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on March 5 following criticism of her management of the agency and Trump’s immigration agenda.
Bondi, a former Republican state attorney general in Florida, said she worked on restoring the Justice Department’s focus on violent crime and rebuilding trust with Trump’s supporters after federal prosecutors twice criminally charged Trump during his years out of power.
Bondi also faced criticism over the removal of dozens of career prosecutors who worked on investigations disfavored by Trump, with critics accusing her of abandoning the DOJ’s traditional focus on even-handed justice.
Bondi defended the rollout of the Epstein files, saying the Trump administration had been more transparent on the issue than previous presidents and that DOJ lawyers worked on a compressed timeline to review reams of material.
During a combative hearing before a House of Representatives panel in January, Bondi responded to criticism with political attacks directed at lawmakers. She refused to apologize or look at Epstein victims and their relatives who attended the proceedings.
Bondi early last year played into fevered speculation about the Epstein files, saying a client list was on her desk for review. But after an initial release included material that had largely already been public, the DOJ and FBI declared in July that the case was closed and that no further disclosures were warranted.
The move prompted an eruption of criticism and eventually a bipartisan law passed in November requiring the Justice Department to release nearly all of its files.
The release of roughly 3 million pages of records still did not quell the controversy, as lawmakers criticized redactions in the files and the disclosure of the identities of some Epstein victims.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi and she was set to testify on April 14.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya, Doina Chiacu; Editing by Michelle Nichols)
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WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has discussed firing Attorney General Pam Bondi amid his frustration with her leadership, including what he sees as a lack of aggression in targeting his enemies and over her handling of the Epstein files, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Trump has floated the idea of replacing Bondi with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, the report said, citing four unnamed sources familiar with the conversations. CNN also reported the discussions.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters. The Justice Department also did not immediately respond.
In a statement to the New York Times, Trump said: “Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job.” A spokesman for Bondi referred to Trump’s statement, the Times said.
Bondi was at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the Republican president attended oral arguments on a birthright citizenship case.
Critics say Trump has dispensed with decades-long norms designed to insulate federal law enforcement from political pressures.
He campaigned for the presidency vowing retribution after facing a slew of legal woes once his first term in the White House ended in 2021. He has continued to publicly call out his perceived adversaries and has pushed Bondi’s Justice Department to bring charges against them.
Since Trump took office a second time in January 2025, federal prosecutors have targeted former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and former national security adviser John Bolton.
The White House has said Trump is abiding by his campaign promises to restore a justice system that he accuses of being “weaponized” by his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
The investigative files on the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein have also dogged Bondi, with a congressional panel issuing a subpoena for her to testify in its related investigation.
Bondi – a former Florida state attorney general – represented Trump during his first impeachment trial in his first White House term.
She was Trump’s second pick for the top U.S. law enforcement job after his first choice, former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration ahead of a congressional ethics report that found he had paid women for sex and drugs and obstructed Congress.
(Writing by Susan Heavey in Washington; additional reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City and Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese and Andrew Heavens)
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