President Trump is weighing whether to fire Attorney General Pam Bondi\u2014just weeks after replacing his Homeland Security chief\u2014amid growing frustration with her leadership and a political blowback over the Epstein files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind the scenes, Trump has floated EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as a possible replacement, according<\/a> to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But publicly, Trump is still standing by her\u2014at least for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAttorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job,\u201d he said in a statement to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind the scenes, the tone is far less supportive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to people familiar with the conversations, Trump has been \u201csouring\u201d on Bondi for months. At the center of it: her handling of the Epstein files, which has become a political liability with his base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That controversy started early. Bondi claimed the files were \u201csitting on my desk right now\u201d\u2014only for the rollout to unravel, with heavily redacted documents and binders distributed to influencers that sparked backlash across MAGA circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The criticism has only intensified. The House Oversight Committee has now moved to subpoena Bondi, with a deposition scheduled for April 14, even as she and allies try to avoid testifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her Capitol Hill appearances haven\u2019t helped. In a tense hearing, Bondi brushed off Epstein-focused criticism by saying Democrats were ignoring that \u201cthe Dow right now is over 50,000\u201d\u2014a remark that drew blowback from Republicans as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s frustrations go beyond Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has complained that the Justice Department is not aggressive enough in going after his political enemies and has fumed over failed or nonexistent cases against figures like James Comey and Letitia James. In one social media post, he openly grumbled about the lack of indictments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, Trump is sending mixed signals. He continues to praise Bondi\u2019s loyalty and remains in regular contact with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he does act, it would mark a shift. Trump had been wary of the kind of staff turnover that defined his first term\u2014but aides say that\u2019s changing after the \u201csmooth\u201d removal of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zeldin, a close ally, is already being discussed as a successor. \u201cHe\u2019s our secret weapon,\u201d Trump said. \u201cHe\u2019s getting those approvals done in record setting time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, on Thursday morning, Politico\u2019s\u00a0Dasha Burns\u00a0reported that Attorney General\u00a0Pam Bondi\u00a0will \u201cwill be out imminently\u201d following Wednesday evening stories from CNN and\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0<\/em>suggesting that\u00a0Bondi<\/a>\u00a0would likely be leaving her post soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA person close to the White House tells Dasha that when Trump met EPA boss\u00a0Lee Zeldin\u00a0on Tuesday to discuss last year\u2019s California wildfires, Trump\u00a0also\u00a0<\/em>discussed the potential of tapping him for the AG role (CNN and the NYT last night both named Zeldin as the most likely successor.) A second person familiar with the situation tells Dasha that Bondi will be out\u00a0imminently,<\/em>\u201d read Thursday\u2019s\u00a0edition<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Politico Playbook<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n