President Donald Trump has fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke with Fox News Digital. Bondi met with Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday night ahead of his speech to the nation on the war in Iran, where she reportedly was informed of her ouster, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Four more sources familiar with the situation say her departure is imminent, marking the end of a 14-month tenure that saw the former Florida attorney general navigate mounting criticism over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and Trump’s demands for more aggressive prosecution of former Biden officials and other judicial and law enforcement figures accused of targeting the Trump circle from 2016 to 2024.
Multiple Frustrations Drive Decision
Frustrated by the backlash and anger in his base over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump has asked people about replacing Bondi, who faces a deposition later this month on Capitol Hill related to the congressional investigation into the late sex trafficker, according to sources who spoke with CNN.
Trump has repeatedly vented frustration to aides regarding both the pace and the effectiveness of the Justice Department’s ability to target his foes — concerns he had also conveyed directly to Bondi, ABC News reported.
Of particular note: Bondi said in a February 2025 interview on Fox News that an Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review,” only for the department to later assert no such list existed. (Bondi has since said that she was referring to all the paperwork related to the Epstein investigation, such as flight logs, and not to a specific client list.)
The Epstein files controversy intensified when White House chief of staff Susie Wiles previously acknowledged that the attorney general had “completely whiffed” in her handling of the Epstein files, according to remarks reported by Vanity Fair.
Prosecutorial Record Under Scrutiny
Trump had also been frustrated that Bondi wasn’t successfully prosecuting a retribution campaign against his political enemies, sources said. But that wasn’t always for lack of trying. Her department had secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but both were thrown out after a judge ruled the prosecutor was illegally serving.
Since Trump took office a second time in January 2025, federal prosecutors have targeted former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, including former national security adviser to Trump’s first administration, John Bolton. Most of the cases to date have not proven successful.
President Trump has also felt frustrated that there haven’t been more indictments and arrests of other adversaries, even as sources told CBS News that efforts to prosecute former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and former CIA Director John Brennan are looming.
Zeldin Positioned as Replacement
Trump is reportedly considering replacing Bondi with Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin, according to the sources familiar with the matter.
White House officials have discussed several possibilities as options for attorney general, but Lee Zeldin, the Senate-confirmed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is the likely replacement, sources said Thursday. President Trump met with Zeldin on Tuesday.
Zeldin, a former Republican member of Congress from New York who unsuccessfully ran to be his state's governor, has been one of Trump's most reliable foot soldiers. As administrator of the EPA, charged with ensuring the protection of human health and the environment, Zeldin has made it his mission to promote Trump's vision of "energy dominance."
In the meantime, the Trump administration has named Trump lawyer and trusted confidant, Todd Blanche, to act as interim Attorney General while the White House considers a more permanent replacement.
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