Pam Bondi has been removed as US Attorney General in the Trump administration.

Bondi’s departure from the Trump administration is the third high-profile departure from Trump’s cabinet this term, following that of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz whose job was added to US State Secretary Marco Rubio’s portfolio.

Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.

Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial, was his second choice to lead the Justice Department, picked for the role after former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.

Trump posted on Truth Social that Bondi will be transitioning to the private sector.

“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900. 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.”
Donald Trump

The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump.

She also struggled to satisfy Trump’s demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.

Lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum accused her of mishandling the release of the Epstein files. Additionally, Bondi had been tasked with pursuing criminal investigations into political opponents such as California Democrat Adam Schiff and Attorney General Letitia James which largely went nowhere. Trump directly addressed this in a September post addressed to Bondi saying that delays in those cases were “killing our reputation and credibility.”

Bondi, a former Florida Attorney General came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the President’s political and personal agenda.

Under Bondi’s leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan.

The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were short-lived as they were quickly thrown out by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed.

Bondi rejected accusations that she politicized the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution’s credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration with two federal criminal cases against Trump.

Bondi’s defenders have said that she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.

Special counsel jack smith — Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Bondi called for an end to the “weaponization” of law enforcement she said occurred under the Biden administration, even though Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the Special Counsel who produced two cases against Trump, have said they followed the facts, the evidence and the law in their decision-making. Bondi’s critics, meanwhile, said she was the one who had politicized the agency to do the President’s bidding.

Blanche To Be Acting Attorney General

Trump confirmed in his post that Todd Blanche will be acting Attorney General. “Our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Trump said.

Trump repeatedly publicly praised and defended Bondi but also showed flashes of impatience with his attorney general’s efforts to meet his demands to prosecute his rivals.

In one extraordinary social media post last year, Trump called on Bondi to move quickly to prosecute his foes, including James and Comey, telling her, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”