All posts tagged: Bondi

Sorry, Pam Bondi. Trump has no loyalty

Sorry, Pam Bondi. Trump has no loyalty

Published by Sam Flores

After a Donald Trump-inspired mob stormed the Capitol and threatened to hang his then-vice president Mike Pence five years ago, one would think the president would struggle to persuade people to work for him. As it turns out, the MAGA movement is filled with mediocre people who are convinced that they are the exception — the one staffer gifted with the ability to manage the mercurial impulses of their erratic boss. This is such a consistent issue that one wonders if holding a position in MAGA leadership requires a delusional level of self-importance that would be diagnosable, if any of these people had the humility required to seek therapy. The latest victim of her own hubris is Attorney General — or rather former Attorney General — Pam Bondi. The former Tri-Delt from Florida was fired Thursday by Trump in a spectacularly humiliating fashion. She was first subjected to an ego-bruising round of media speculation that this was coming, rumors egged on by anonymous White House sources. To rub a little extra salt in the wound, …

Pam Bondi May Be Just the Beginning of Trump’s Purge

Pam Bondi May Be Just the Beginning of Trump’s Purge

Published by José Betancourt

After Pam Bondi’s ouster today, which followed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s firing last month, Cabinet secretaries and other senior administration officials were anxiously eyeing their phones, wondering whether they’d be next. One top official didn’t have to wait long: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed the chief of staff of the Army, General Randy George. Several people familiar with the White House’s plans told us that there are active discussions about others leaving the administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters, said that the timing is uncertain and that President Trump has not yet made up his mind. But what was once an unofficial motto of the second Trump term—“no scalps”—no longer applies. Trump had been reluctant to get rid of any of his top lieutenants, viewing firings as a concession to the Democrats and the media. Even in the past few months, there had been an edict that no Cabinet …

Pam Bondi Couldn’t Possibly Succeed

Pam Bondi Couldn’t Possibly Succeed

Published by Sam Flores

Pam Bondi’s 421 days as attorney general of the United States came to an end in the only way they could have: with her being fired ignominiously via a social-media post. Donald Trump announced that Bondi, though a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend,” will be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job” that, despite its great importance, remains a secret. Also, her new job will be in the private sector, which makes it a strange thing for a president to be determining—or at least this would be strange if the administration still observed traditional boundaries between public and private, which it does not. The attorney-general position under Trump has become a short-term gig not unlike the drummer in This Is Spinal Tap. Back in 2017, Trump chose his first nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, specifically for his loyalty—Sessions was the first senator to endorse his campaign. But Sessions disappointed his boss by recusing himself from the Russia investigation and generally following department procedure, leading to his termination. From the March …