Todd Blanche Named Acting Attorney General After Bondi Firing

President Donald Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general on April 2 after firing Pam Bondi from the position, Axios reported, citing multiple administration sources.¹

Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal defense attorney during the 2024 New York hush money trial before joining the Department of Justice as deputy AG, assumed the role immediately upon Bondi’s departure.¹

Blanche’s Path to the Top

Blanche joined the DOJ in early 2025 after Trump’s inauguration, transitioning from the role of private defense attorney to the second-highest position in the department. His elevation to acting AG marked an unusually rapid ascent through the federal law enforcement hierarchy.

Sources told Axios that Blanche had been “lobbying hard” for the permanent attorney general role in conversations with White House officials and allies of the president in the weeks before Bondi’s firing.¹

The move placed Trump’s former personal lawyer at the helm of the department overseeing ongoing investigations, including the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related document releases under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Bondi’s Departure

Bondi’s firing came amid weeks of tension between the White House and the attorney general’s office over the pace and scope of Epstein file releases. Multiple outlets reported that Trump had grown dissatisfied with Bondi’s handling of the matter, though the official White House statement cited only a desire for “new leadership.”²

Bondi had been scheduled to give a deposition related to the Epstein files before a congressional committee in the days following her dismissal. The timing of the firing drew immediate scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties.

Al Jazeera reported that Trump told associates Bondi was “not tough enough” and had been “too slow” on multiple fronts, though the president did not specify which issues prompted the decision.²

Permanent Replacement

While Blanche assumed the acting role, administration sources told Axios that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin had emerged as the leading candidate for the permanent attorney general position.¹

Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, was described by sources as someone Trump viewed as a “loyal fighter” who could manage the political complexities of the role. A formal nomination would require Senate confirmation.

Other names reportedly under consideration included several current and former federal prosecutors with ties to Trump’s legal orbit, though none had advanced as far as Zeldin in the vetting process.

Reaction

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the appointment of Trump’s former personal attorney as the nation’s top law enforcement official raised “serious questions about the independence of the Justice Department.”

Republican allies of the president defended the move, saying Blanche was a qualified attorney who had already been confirmed by the Senate for the deputy AG position.

Legal ethics experts said the appointment, while lawful under federal succession statutes, represented an unusual blurring of the line between personal legal representation and public service at the highest levels of government.¹

References

1. Axios — “Todd Blanche named acting attorney general after Bondi firing”
2. Al Jazeera — “Trump fires attorney general Pam Bondi”