Washington, D.C., runs on loyalty, and Pam Bondi might be bearing the brunt of it right now. The U.S. attorney general is reportedly on thin ice with Donald Trump, and the reason involves Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has privately been thinking, according to CNN, about firing Bondi, as he is frustrated by the backlash over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
The idea of replacing Bondi first came up in January and then subsided as Epstein coverage faded from the news cycle. By late March, however, the firing rumors were circulating in the West Wing again.
Some of the released Epstein files were heavily redacted, and in others, the DOJ failed to redact the names of sex-trafficking victims. This double failure angered people in both parties. As a result, Bondi was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee, and her deposition is scheduled for April 14.
Even White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (who has been one of Bondi’s strongest allies in the government) told a reporter that the AG had “completely whiffed” in her handling of the Epstein files.
White House chief of staff says AG Pam Bondi ‘completely whiffed’ on handling of Epstein files https://t.co/wMbCL4Arfx pic.twitter.com/2WlYeVObWf
— New York Post (@nypost) December 16, 2025
Trump has also been wanting the Justice Department to go after his political rivals. The president has also complained about Bondi’s poor communication skills and what he thinks is a lack of aggressiveness in targeting his enemies.
In September 2025, Trump posted to Bondi on Truth Social and addressed his grievances in front of his followers. There, he demanded prosecutions of Senator Adam Schiff, former FBI Director James Comey, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” he wrote.
Trump insisted the post wasn’t a criticism of Bondi. Yet he has floated the idea of replacing her with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and has also mentioned some other candidates. Zeldin, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency, holds a J.D. from Albany Law School and previously worked as an attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey before running his own law practice, The Daily Beast reported.
More importantly, the president trusts Zeldin. After losing the 2022 New York governor’s race to Kathy Hochul, Zeldin stayed close to Trump and has regularly appeared at Mar-a-Lago throughout the 2024 campaign.
Trump also called him his administration’s “secret weapon” at a White House coal industry event.
Trump has discussed possibly firing Pam Bondi, mainly due to frustration with her leadership and handling of the Epstein files.
He has suggested Lee Zeldin as a potential replacement, but no final decision has been made.
Source: NYT pic.twitter.com/QUpNGkQfti
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 1, 2026
However, publicly, Trump keeps praising Bondi. When CNN and The New York Times called him with their sources, Trump’s response was, in both cases, that “[The] Attorney General (…) is a wonderful person, and she is doing a good job.”
Meanwhile, she was riding in his motorcade to the Supreme Court the day those reports dropped.
