Source: Fortune
Summary
President Donald Trump has announced that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending a contentious tenure marked by large-scale firings of career employees and investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies. Bondi’s departure continues a trend of Justice Department upheaval that has defined Trump’s presidency. She had pledged not to play politics with the Justice Department but quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking criticism that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge.
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The strategy enters a familiar phase.
Bondi’s public embrace of Trump marked a sharp departure from her predecessors. She postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings. Her leadership was marked by intense turmoil, including the firings of career prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump. Bondi’s departure continues a trend of Justice Department upheaval that has defined Trump’s presidency.
Bondi’s critics said she politicized the agency to do the president’s bidding.
The numbers tell one story: thousands of career employees left the Justice Department under Bondi’s leadership.
With Bondi out, the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House may be restored.
