Published: April 13, 2026
On April 2, after 14 months of serving as the United States Attorney General, President Donald Trump fired Pam Bondi and announced that Todd Blanche would be filling her role. Prior to taking over Bondi’s role of Attorney General, Blanche served most notably as a defense lawyer for Donald Trump to defend him in various cases. Blanche was the lead defense attorney in 2024 when Trump stood trial for charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments. The seven-week trial ended with Trump being convicted on all 34 counts, but spared from any penalty. After taking over for Bondi, Blanche went on X (formerly Twitter) to praise Pam Bondi and thank President Trump, “Pam Bondi led this Department with strength and conviction and I’m grateful for her leadership and friendship,” followed by, “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.”
However, changing the Justice Department can’t guarantee the President the outcomes that he’s seeking. So far, courts have largely blocked the current administration’s efforts at going at his enemies, and Congress successfully sought and won the release of the DOJ’s files that were related to Jeffrey Epstein. This news comes after reports stating that Trump had become increasingly frustrated with Bondi over the days leading to her being relieved of her position. According to an article published by NBC News, a person familiar with White House deliberations added that Trump didn’t believe Pam Bondi “executed on his vision” in the way that he wanted.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published back in December, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said Bondi had “completely whiffed” in regard to the handling of the Epstein files. This included Bondi handing out binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” to a group consisting of various conservatives.
Bondi’s departure from the position of Attorney General officially marks the second cabinet member to be fired by President Trump in his second term. Kristi Noem was the first to go, having been fired in March from her role as Homeland Security Secretary. During her time as Attorney General, Bondi had overseen the firings of numerous attorneys and FBI agents tied to the prosecutions of Trump. Her tenure was also marked by a large voluntary exodus of lawyers that left the department with fewer career employers. In addition to this, she also oversaw many Trump administration priorities, which included cutting investigations into police departments, reframing the department to focus on investigations of the perceived “weaponization” of the Justice Department, along with voter fraud.
Under Pam Bondi, the Justice Department had struggled to bring successful cases against Trump’s political enemies. Earlier in February, NBC first reported that the Justice Department had failed to indict six members of Congress over a social media video where they told military members and intelligence communities that they shouldn’t obey unlawful orders. Following this, Donald Trump took to his app Truth Social, stating, “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.” Bondi then seemingly added confirmation to her shift to a job in the private sector while also thanking President Trump via X, “Leading President Trump’s historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime, and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history.”
She added, “moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about, and where I will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration… I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again. At the time of writing this, there is no scheduled date for confirmation of Todd Blanche to become the permanent Attorney General.
