By NBC News
Attorney General Pam Bondi is leaving her position, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, amid reports that he was frustrated with her handling of some of his key priorities.
“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,” he said in a Truth Social post, adding that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would take over as the department’s acting attorney general.
A senior administration official and a source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Bondi was fired.
Trump had grown “more and more frustrated” with Bondi in recent days, a person familiar with White House deliberations said, adding that while he likes her as a person, he doesn’t think she has “executed on his vision” in the way that he wants.
Blanche, who was formerly one of Trump’s personal lawyers, thanked the president in a post on X.
“Pam Bondi led this Department with strength and conviction and I’m grateful for her leadership and friendship,” he said. “Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General. We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe.”
Bondi is the second Cabinet member to be axed by the president.Kristi Noem was fired last month as homeland security secretaryin a descent that mirrored Bondi’s. NBC News reported that Trump grew increasingly frustrated with Noem but that her performance at two congressional hearings is what finally cost her the job.
Trump had chosen Bondi, a longtime loyalist, to lead the Justice Department after embattled former Florida congressmanMatt Gaetz withdrew as nominee.
Bondi had long ties to Trump. During the 2016 Republican National Convention, she joined in “lock her up” chants aimed at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and she was then part of Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment trial. After Trump lost the 2020 election, she was involved in efforts to overturn the results, falsely claiming that he had “won Pennsylvania.”
