President Donald Trump has discussed firing Pam Bondi as Attorney General following the backlash over her handling of the Epstein files, according to new reports.
In recent days the president has privately considered replacing Bondi with Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, sources close to the matter told The New York Times.
The Independent has contacted the White House and Bondi’s office for comment on the reports.
Trump publicly expressed confidence in his Attorney General as she accompanied him to the Supreme Court hearing Wednesday to hear oral arguments on birthright citizenship laws.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job,” the president said in a statement to The NYT, while a source told CNN that the pair were conducting “business as usual.”
The speculation comes as Bondi is expected to give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee later this month, after being subpoenaed by the Republican-led committee. She is due to testify on April 14 about the Justice Department’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in his prison cell in 2019.
Plans to replace Bondi originally swirled in January, CNN reports, but then died down after the issue somewhat fell out of the news cycle – replaced with the unrest in Minnesota and then the conflict in Iran.
At the time Zeldin was not mentioned as a specific candidate to step in as Attorney General. The EPA boss previously worked as an attorney and represented New York’s 1st congressional district. He also ran for state governor in 2022 where he lost to Kathy Hochul.
He has since remained a close ally of the president, including in the run up to the 2024 presidential election.
Trump has also complained about Bondi’s lack of clear communication skills in addition to her poor handling of the Epstein files release, which plagued the administration for months and caused backlash among his base, according toThe NYT.
In addition, the president has bemoaned the lack of aggressiveness of the DOJ in going after his political enemies. In September last year, Trump publicly posted a Truth Social post that appeared to be addressed directly to Bondi.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, [are] essentially, same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,” the president wrote in his post that he later deleted.
“What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
