Trump Just Fired Pam Bondi Right Before Her Epstein Testimony

TL;DR

Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi days before her subpoenaed Epstein deposition, reportedly over disloyalty and plans to replace her with EPA chief Lee Zeldin.

Key Points

• 1.Bondi was fired just before a legally binding Epstein deposition. She had been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee and was expected to testify about the Epstein files; the committee's ranking member confirmed she remains legally obligated to appear despite the firing.
• 2.Trump's stated reasons for firing Bondi include alleged disloyalty and tipping off Eric Swalwell. The Daily Mail reported an explosive White House showdown where Bondi begged for more time, with Trump accusing her of leaking FBI investigative document plans related to Swalwell's alleged Chinese spy connection.
• 3.Trump also complained Bondi wasn't aggressive enough against political opponents. He was especially frustrated that the DOJ failed to secure wins against former FBI Director James Comey and New York AG Tish James.
• 4.Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator and former Republican congressman from New York, is Trump's pick to replace Bondi. Deputy AG Todd Blanch will serve as acting attorney general in the interim; Bondi is being pushed to the private sector rather than reshuffled within the administration.
• 5.Tulsi Gabbard may also be on the chopping block as Director of National Intelligence. Trump gave only lukewarm support when asked about her, saying 'yeah, sure,' after she refused to condemn former deputy Joe Kent and gave Iran nuclear testimony that contradicted administration positions.
• 6.Trump's primetime address on the Iran war offered no clear endgame despite escalating rhetoric. He claimed Iran's navy, air force, and missile capabilities are largely destroyed, threatened to bomb power plants (considered a war crime under international humanitarian law), and promised the war would end in '2 to 3 more weeks' while leaving ~960 pounds of highly enriched uranium in place.
• 7.The Trump administration is attempting to gut the Presidential Records Act, claiming it is unconstitutional. The law was passed in 1978 after Watergate specifically to prevent presidents from destroying incriminating records — Trump, who was indicted on 37 counts for mishandling classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, wants the power to decide which records are handed over.