Pam Bondi saw writing on the wall but hoped for a 'graceful exit': NYT
Newly fired Attorney General Pam Bondi lavished excessive, cartoonish praise on Donald Trump. It didn't matter. He fired her via social media post anyway, blindsiding the attorney general who had bent over backward to prove her loyalty.
According to the New York Times, Bondi saw the writing on the wall last month when Trump abruptly fired Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. She confided to friends that she might be next. But she never expected Trump to act quite so quickly or ruthlessly.
On Wednesday, Trump told Bondi during a car ride to the Supreme Court — while they watched arguments in the birthright citizenship case — that "it was time for a change at the top of the Justice Department."
Bondi desperately hoped to negotiate a graceful exit, buying time until summer to leave on her own terms. Instead, she got neither mercy nor time. She grew emotional after realizing she was finished. The next morning, Trump made it official — firing her through a social media post.
The reason was clear: Trump was furious. The Justice Department had failed to win high-profile cases against his political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Multiple Trump advisers had been working behind the scenes to orchestrate her ouster. Federal housing official Bill Pulte, operating outside Bondi's authority, had long pushed for her firing, blaming her for "slow-walking and bungling" the Comey and James cases. Boris Epshteyn, Trump's longtime legal adviser, was also a key detractor who significantly influenced the president's decision.
Even Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff and Bondi's most important ally — the woman Bondi called her "sister" — found it increasingly impossible to defend her. Wiles made a passionate argument for keeping Bondi until the end of the term, but it wasn't enough to overcome Trump's fury.
Desperate to save her job, Bondi moved more aggressively in recent weeks against targets Trump had singled out, including former Obama official John Brennan and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson — the latter accused by Trump of lying about his actions on January 6.
It backfired. Her aggressive compliance signaled weakness, not loyalty.
Trump's personnel calculus is now shifting dangerously. His quick confirmation of Markwayne Mullin as Noem's replacement has emboldened him. Cabinet secretaries are no longer safe, even those who have demonstrated unwavering devotion.
Trump's allies now have embattled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer in their sights as the next potential cabinet casualty.