Trump fires Bondi, names former personal lawyer acting U.S. attorney general

Donald Trump has dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi, abruptly ending her tenure atop the Justice Department and tapping his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as acting attorney general.

The decision comes after weeks of rising irritation inside Trump’s orbit over Bondi’s performance, especially her stewardship of investigative files tied to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump had also reportedly become increasingly dissatisfied that Bondi was not moving fast enough to pursue criminal cases against critics and political opponents he believed should be prosecuted.

Bondi “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

As the nation’s top law enforcement official, Bondi aggressively advanced Trump’s agenda and helped erode the Justice Department’s long-observed distance from the White House in criminal investigations.

Yet the controversy that came to define her time in office centered on the Epstein files, a matter that drew repeated attacks from Trump allies as well as some Republican lawmakers.

Bondi faced accusations that she had either mishandled or obscured the release of records from the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigations into Epstein, the financier whose circle included a range of influential and wealthy figures.

The fallout became a political burden for Trump and revived attention on his former friendship with Epstein, which Trump has said ended decades ago.

Her exit could trigger a broader reset at the Justice Department and, potentially, a fresh effort to use the U.S. legal system against figures Trump has long targeted.

Bondi is the second high-ranking Trump official to be forced out in recent weeks. On 5 March, Trump removed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after criticism of her handling of the department and of Trump’s immigration agenda.

Bondi, a former Republican attorney general in Florida, had said her mission was to refocus the Justice Department on violent crime and restore confidence among Trump’s supporters after federal prosecutors brought criminal cases against him twice while he was out of office.

She also came under fire for the removal of dozens of career prosecutors involved in investigations Trump opposed, with critics arguing she had abandoned the department’s traditional commitment to impartial justice.

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring and relatives stand behind Pam Bondi at a hearing in January

Bondi defended the handling of the Epstein file release, arguing that the Trump administration had shown more transparency than prior presidents and that Justice Department lawyers had worked under tight deadlines to review vast amounts of material.

At a heated hearing before a House of Representatives panel in January, Bondi answered criticism with partisan attacks aimed at lawmakers. She declined to apologise and did not look toward Epstein survivors and relatives seated in the room.

Early last year, Bondi helped fuel intense speculation over the Epstein records by saying a client list was on her desk for review. But after an initial document release largely contained information already in the public domain, the DOJ and FBI said in July that the matter was closed and that no further disclosures were justified.

That declaration sparked fierce backlash and eventually led to a bipartisan law in November requiring the Justice Department to release nearly all of its files.

Even the release of about 3 million pages of records failed to end the uproar, as lawmakers objected to redactions and to the disclosure of the identities of some Epstein victims.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi, and she had been scheduled to testify on 14 April.

Washington planning commission approves Trump’s ballroom project

Washington planning officials have approved President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom proposal, acting two days after a judge ruled that construction cannot move forward without congressional approval.

The National Capital Planning Commission, chaired by one of Trump’s former lawyers, considered the proposal before voting to back the “East Wing Modernisation Project”.

Trump has described the $400 million, 8,400-square-meter ballroom as a privately funded landmark addition to the White House and a lasting emblem of his presidency.

The ballroom fits into Trump’s wider effort to remake Washington’s monumental core, a campaign that also includes plans for a 250-foot arch and a multi-year overhaul of the Kennedy Center performing arts complex.

He has also torn out and replaced the White House Rose Garden and introduced extensive gilded touches to the Oval Office.

“I believe that, in time, this ballroom will be considered every ‌bit as much of a national treasure ⁠as the other key components of the White House,” said Will Scharf, who chairs the commission and is Trump’s former personal lawyer.

Scharf, who was appointed by Trump, said much of the criticism submitted to the commission focused on matters outside its jurisdiction, including objections to the ballroom’s private financing, the demolition process and views about Trump himself.