President Donald J. Trump pulled the plug on the Pam Bondi experiment, firing his attorney general on Thursday and promoting her deputy, Todd Blanche, to head up the Justice Department until a permanent replacement is named.
The stunning move comes amid criticism of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, a four-alarm dumpster fire for the president after her unforced errors over the release of the documents were exploited by Democrats who suddenly developed a keen interest in the notorious sex offender and alleged blackmailer for politically motivated reasons.
But those who may be expecting a period of tumult at the DOJ during the transition could be sorely mistaken because Blanche brings a certain ruthlessness to the table that was sorely lacking in Bondi and, according to constitutional law expert Professor Jonathan Turley, “He’ll gut you like a trout.”
(Video: Fox News)
During a discussion of the dismissal on Thursday’s edition of “America Reports” on Fox News, Turley put celebrating Democrats on notice that Bondi’s termination could soon blow back on them in ways that they aren’t anticipating.
“I think that the president obviously is trying to prepare for what he sees as coming. And there’s a lot of unknowns there. I would say that when Chuck Schumer celebrates this, he should think again. Pam Bondi is still in good favor with not just the president, but most people in that party,” he said.
“She’s now a torpedo in the water,” Turley continued. “There’s a lot of places she could go, including running for office. So I wouldn’t celebrate too much if I were the minority leader in that sense.”
Schumer took to X to gloat over the news about Bondi’s firing, as did other members of his party.
Good riddance. Pam Bondi was the wrong choice from the start.
But the rot at the Department of Justice begins and ends with Donald Trump. As long as his focus is on using DOJ as a tool for revenge and not law enforcement, the cover up of the Epstein files, along with the… https://t.co/kywfB2CAlW
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 2, 2026
Turley ran down a few potential replacements, including former Fox News colleague and current U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro and former GOP congressman and current EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, while lauding Blanche as “a partner in a world-class law firm, he was a prosecutor in what’s considered the top prosecution office, and he’s tough as nails.”
“In terms of confirmations, I think that Schumer’s hair would catch on fire if it was Todd Blanche because of his…he was at the center of the Epstein files issue, but he’s also been at the president’s side throughout these battles,” he continued.
“I think Zeldin would probably have the easiest of those, and possibly Pirro and others. But I think the president is primarily looking at as he has his whole career, if I make a personnel change, can I sort of spur this along?” Turley added. “And each of these people have a skillset. Todd Blanche is a tough guy. He’ll gut you like a trout without even changing his expression.”
“He’s a litigator. I mean, he’s been in the tough fights, and you can count on that,” he said of Blanche, who also served as Trump’s attorney during the Democrats’ lawfare campaign between his two terms.
“The Department of Justice is working hard every day,” Blanche told Fox News after being tapped as interim AG. “It was working hard yesterday, and we’re going to keep on working hard tomorrow, and I’m honored that President Trump has asked me to step in as acting [attorney general], and also much appreciative for what Pam Bondi did for the past year.”
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