WASHINGTON, April 1 - President Donald Trump has privately contemplated removing Attorney General Pam Bondi from her role amid growing frustration with what he views as insufficiently aggressive action against his critics and concerns about her stewardship of investigative materials tied to Jeffrey Epstein, media outlets reported on Wednesday.
The New York Times, citing four unnamed individuals familiar with the conversations, said Trump has discussed replacing Bondi with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. CNN also carried reports describing similar discussions. Neither the White House nor the Justice Department provided an immediate response to requests for comment.
In a statement to the New York Times that the media outlet published, Trump said: "Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job." A spokesman for Bondi referred to that statement, according to the report.
Bondi was present at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday while the president attended oral arguments in a case concerning birthright citizenship. Her presence at the court occurred amid intensified scrutiny over several matters, including the investigative records related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A congressional panel has issued a subpoena seeking Bondi's testimony in its probe of those files.
Critics argue that Trump has undermined long-standing norms meant to keep federal law enforcement insulated from political pressure. During his presidential campaign he pledged retribution after a series of legal challenges that followed the end of his first term in 2021. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, he has continued to publicly single out individuals he views as adversaries and has pressured Bondi's Justice Department to pursue charges against them.
Federal prosecutors have opened cases involving several high-profile figures since Trump resumed office, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and former national security adviser John Bolton, the reports noted.
The White House has defended the administration's approach, saying it reflects Trump's campaign promise to reform what he describes as a justice system "weaponized" by his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. Those statements have accompanied ongoing questions about the independence of prosecutorial decisions.
Bondi, a former Florida state attorney general, served as a defense representative for Trump during his first impeachment trial in his initial presidential term. She became the administration's second nominee for the attorney general post after Trump's first choice, former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration following a congressional ethics report that found he had paid women for sex and drugs and had obstructed Congress.
Note: This article reports on accounts and statements appearing in media reports and comments made by persons referenced within those reports. Some individuals cited in those reports were described as unnamed sources familiar with private conversations.