There’s new chatter inside the White House about whether Donald Trump could replace his Attorney General, Pam Bondi. According to multiple sources who spoke to CNN, Trump has privately been thinking about removing Bondi from the role. One name that keeps coming up in those conversations is Lee Zeldin, who currently heads the Environmental Protection Agency.
Frustration over Epstein fallout
According to CNN, a big reason behind Trump’s decision is the ongoing anger among his supporters over how the administration handled files linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Sources told CNN that Trump has been frustrated by the backlash. He has also complained that Bondi has not gone far enough in investigating his political rivals. At the same time, Bondi is expected to face questioning later this month on Capitol Hill as part of a congressional probe tied to Epstein.
Still, nothing is final. People familiar with the matter say Trump hasn’t made a clear decision yet. However, despite these discussions behind closed doors, Trump spoke very fondly of Bondi recently. “Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person, and she is doing a good job,” he said in a statement to CNN.
Bondi was seen alongside Trump just a day earlier, riding in his motorcade as he went to the Supreme Court for arguments on birthright citizenship.
When asked about the situation, the Justice Department pointed back to Trump’s statement. Another source said Trump and Bondi have been in regular contact over the past few days, describing their talks as “business as usual.”
Who is Lee Zeldin?
According to CNN, Zeldin’s name is making the rounds. The idea of bringing him in isn’t entirely new. It first came up back in January, but faded as the Epstein story slipped out of the spotlight. For a while, some officials at the Justice Department even felt the issue had finally stopped causing trouble. But that didn’t last long.
By Monday, talk of replacing Bondi with Zeldin was once again making the rounds inside the West Wing. Even so, Zeldin is not the only option. Trump has mentioned other possible candidates, too, though one source said Zeldin’s name comes up the most.
Zeldin is currently serving as the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chosen by Trump himself. Before joining the EPA, Zeldin spent years in elected office. From 2015 to 2023, he represented New York’s 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Zeldin has long been seen as a close ally of Trump. He strongly stood by the president during his first impeachment hearings, which were linked to the Trump–Ukraine scandal.
However, sources say replacing Bondi might not be easy as she still has strong backing from some key figures, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. However, in a past comment to Vanity Fair, Wiles admitted that Bondi had “completely whiffed” when it came to handling the Epstein files.