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President Donald Trump has reportedly already fired Attorney General Pam Bondi and has her replacement pegged, two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to FOX News on Thursday (April 2).
Trump is reportedly considering Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin as Bondi's replacement, the sources confirmed. Trump and Zeldin reportedly met with him at the White House on Tuesday (March 31), which was initially intended to discuss wildfire and prevention, but escalated into talks of the transition, one source with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
Semafor White House correspondent Shelby Talcott previously reported that Trump informed Bondi that her time in the role was nearing an end. MS NOW also reported that Trump was considering replacing Bondi earlier on Thursday.
Trump reportedly grew frustrated with Bondi's inability to successfully prosecute individuals he considers political enemies and argued should face criminal charges, a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity given that they aren't authorized to speak on sensitive matters told MS NOW. It's unclear which people the report was referring to, however, grand juries have rejected Trump's efforts to charge political rivals such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and several Democratic lawyers, while judges have blocked other attempts by his administration due to lacking evidence.
Bondi was also subpoenaed by the House Republican-led committee to answer questions about "the possible mismanagement" of the Justice Department's probe into Epstein on March 17. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote a letter to Bondi notifying her that the panel was also seeking information about “the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein’s death,” as well as materials gathered that led to the conviction of Epstein's accomplice and longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Oversight panel had previously voted in favor of having Bondi appear for a deposition earlier this month and asked her to appear on April 14. Five Republicans on the Oversight Committee joined Democrats to vote, 24 to 19, in favor of the subpoena, which was introduced by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.
The vote provided a sharp criticism of Bondi by her own party with conservatives holding the majority in Congress, as well as the second time that Republican members of the Oversight Committee have crossed party lines to force action in connection with the Epstein files. The five Republicans who crossed party lines included Mace, Burchett, and fellow Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Michael Cloud of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, all of whom have been staunch supporters of Trump.
Comer, who objected prior to the bipartisan vote, will be required to issue the subpoena for a closed-door deposition in which Bondi will speak under oath. The Justice Department is obligated to release all files related to the Epstein case in adherence with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Trump in November after some prior pushback, with redactions only supposed to be made to protect victims and ongoing investigations.