US President Donald Trump, on Thursday, fired Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post, a White House official said. Her removal follows frustration with her performance, including her handling of investigative files related to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, mentioned a report by Reuters.
Trump had also reportedly grown to prosecute critics and adversaries who he wanted to face criminal charges.
Pam Bondi – a Trump loyalist, who oversaw Justice Department upheaval – is the first woman who has served as Florida’s Attorney General.
Pam Bondi’s rise and fall
Here’s a look at her career, how she rose to prominence:
Early 1990s – Bondi began working at the Hillsborough County, Florida, State Attorney’s Office.
December 2009 – She left her job as a prosecutor at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office to contest for Florida attorney general’s post.
November 2010 – Pam Bondi becomes the first woman elected as Florida’s attorney general.
2013 – Faces massive criticism for urging then-Florida governor, Rick Scott, to postpone an execution because it conflicted with a fundraiser for her reelection campaign. She later apologised, as per a report by CNN.
2011-2019 – Bondi serves as attorney general of Florida, and was re-elected in 2014.
2019 – Joins the administration of US President Donald Trump; works on Trump’s legal team during his impeachment hearings.
2019-2025 – Bondi worked as a partner at Ballard Partners LLC.
November 2024 – Trump names Bondi as his pick for US attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdrew as the original nominee.
February 2025 – Senate votes 54-46 to confirm Bondi as US attorney general.
February 2025: Pam Bondi is sworn in as US attorney general.
July 2025 – The Justice Department released a memo stating there was no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein kept a ‘client list’ or was murdered. The issue drew attention after Bondi had earlier said in a TV interview that such a list was under review.
August 11, 2025 – Trump declares a crime emergency and announces that Bondi will oversee the federal takeover of Washington, DC’s police force.
August 15, 2025: Days later, following a hearing in federal court, Bondi issued a new order giving control of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department back to Chief Pamela Smith, but it would still require the city to answer to the Trump administration for the time being.
December 2025: The Justice Department released thousands of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on 19 December. It however, received criticism for redacting and allegedly removing photos from the files already released. Amid backlash, Bondi reaffirms that US will ‘bring charges against anyone involved’ anyone involved in the “trafficking and exploitation of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.”
April 2026: Pam Bondi fired. Earlier, Trump had discussed firing Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, mentioned a CNN report.
What’s next for Bondi? Trump says ‘job in private sector’
In a social media post, Trump praised Bondi as a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend” and said she will move to a job in the private sector. Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, will lead the Justice Department in the interim.
