U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly had a blowout fight before the president ultimately fired her.
The argument is rumored to have occurred shortly before the president took the stage to address the nation about the Iran war on Wednesday evening. A day after reports emerged about Trump having private discussions about firing Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files, he took to Truth Social to announce that she will be “transitioning” into the private sector in a similar manner to his firing of former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about a month ago.
Reports are also beginning to emerge that the president intends to fire National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard over an embarrassing social media blunder that he feels undermines the administration’s military operation in Iran.
Trump described Bondi as a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” while revealing that she “will be transitioning to a much-needed and important new job in the private sector” and that her Deputy Attorney, General Todd Blanche, would fill in as acting AG in the interim.
Trump reportedly is floating the idea of appointing Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin to replace Bondi, The New York Times reports. Trump previously described Zeldin as a “secret weapon” who is getting “those approvals” for the EPA “done in record-setting time.”
Although the president did not formally announce her firing until Thursday, a senior administration official told The Daily Mail that the duo had a standoff that ultimately culminated in her firing the evening before.
The senior official claims that Bondi was “unhappy and tried to change his mind” after revealing his decision, but he did not budge.
She allegedly asked him to extend the amount of time she could serve in the role, though the proposal did not change his mind.
It comes after Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, declared that Bondi will still be obligated to testify before the committee about the Epstein files, despite being axed from her post in an X post immediately after the firing was announced.
In a lengthy statement, Garcia accused Bondi of “leading the White House cover-up of the Epstein files” by “weaponizing the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities.”
“She will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath,” he declared.
Trump and Bondi also allegedly got into heated verbal altercation last week, though it remains unclear what the subject was about, NBC News reports.