WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday removed Pam Bondi as attorney general in a fresh cabinet reshuffle, appointing Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as her interim replacement.
Trump confirmed the decision in a post on Truth Social, praising Bondi’s performance but offering no specific reason for her departure.
“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump wrote, adding that she would be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector”.
Second cabinet shake-up
Bondi’s removal marks Trump’s second major cabinet-level change in recent weeks, following the dismissal of Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security last month.
Blanche will serve in an interim capacity as the administration looks to stabilise leadership at the US Department of Justice.
Trump credited Bondi with overseeing a reduction in violent crime during her tenure, citing a broader decline that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, media reports suggested that Trump had grown frustrated with Bondi on several fronts, including her handling of investigative files linked to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as concerns that she had not pursued action against political opponents aggressively enough.
Concerns over judicial independence
Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, had been closely aligned with Trump’s political agenda, drawing scrutiny over the independence of the Justice Department.
Critics pointed to instances where prosecutors under her leadership pursued investigations and charges against figures seen as political adversaries of the president.
In one case, Trump publicly urged action in a social media post directed at Bondi, naming Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.
Indictments against James and Comey followed in subsequent weeks, raising concerns among legal observers.
The American Bar Association and other legal groups warned that such developments risked undermining the Justice Department’s tradition of independence and could signal politically motivated prosecutions.
