President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, ending a 14-month tenure in the position marked by controversy over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files investigation. The dismissal came after months of mounting frustration from Trump, who grew increasingly dissatisfied with Bondi’s inability to prosecute his political rivals and her management of the Epstein case. Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who entered office pledging not to politicise the Justice Department, instead transformed it into a tool for Trump’s complaints, firing career prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal, opening investigations into political rivals, and overseeing hundreds of employee resignations that stripped the department of experienced personnel.
The immediate trigger for Bondi’s removal appears to have been her handling of the Epstein files, which sparked outrage among conservatives who accused her of failing to release promised documents revealing high-profile connections to the convicted sex offender. Despite Bondi’s claims that she had released all files, the slow and incomplete disclosure fuelled conspiracy theories and anger from Trump’s base. It all led to her being legally forced to give a statement on April 14.
Replacing Bondi is Todd Blanche, who becomes the first acting attorney general in modern history to have previously served as the president’s personal criminal defence lawyer. Blanche, who has served as deputy attorney general since March 2025, defended Trump in three of his four criminal cases, including the hush money trial that resulted in Trump’s conviction, and has been a loyal enforcer of the administration’s agenda.
Blanche’s rapid elevation from personal attorney to the nation’s top law enforcement official in just over a year shows how much Trump’s inner circle has more power over the law than any other group in the past, raising serious questions about the Justice Department’s independence and its role as a shield for the president’s personal and political interests.
