FOLLOW US

President Donald Trump has privately weighed the possibility of removing Attorney General Pam Bondi and installing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in her place, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to CNN.

The deliberations come as Trump expresses dissatisfaction over backlash from his political base tied to how his administration has handled matters related to Jeffrey Epstein. Sources said the president has questioned whether Bondi should remain in her role, particularly as she prepares to testify later this month on Capitol Hill as part of a congressional probe into the deceased financier. Trump has also voiced irritation that Bondi has not pursued investigations into certain political rivals more aggressively.

Despite those concerns, sources told CNN that Trump has not reached a final decision. Bondi appeared alongside the president on Wednesday, traveling in his motorcade to Supreme Court arguments concerning birthright citizenship and attending his remarks later that evening regarding the conflict with Iran. In a statement provided to CNN, Trump publicly backed his attorney general.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job,” the president said.

When asked for comment, the Justice Department pointed to the White House statement. A person familiar with the situation told CNN that Trump and Bondi have been in frequent contact in recent days and described their exchanges as “business as usual.”

Discussions about potentially replacing Bondi with Zeldin date back to January, according to sources, before fading as media attention on Epstein diminished. Some senior Justice Department officials believed the long-running controversy surrounding Epstein-related records had eased, one source said. However, talk of a possible leadership change resurfaced in the West Wing earlier this week.

Zeldin is not viewed as a definitive successor should Trump ultimately remove Bondi, though sources said he has been mentioned more often than other possible candidates.

A lawyer and military veteran, Zeldin previously served as a congressman representing New York’s 1st District before joining the EPA. After losing the 2022 gubernatorial race in New York to Kathy Hochul, he maintained close ties with Trump and was a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago during the 2024 campaign.

Within the administration, Bondi retains key supporters, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. According to one source, there have been several instances in recent months when Trump’s confidence in Bondi waned, prompting Wiles to step in on her behalf.

Still, Wiles previously acknowledged concerns about Bondi’s handling of the Epstein matter, telling a Vanity Fair reporter that the attorney general had “completely whiffed” in her approach.

Attention has also focused on Bondi’s public statements. In a February 2025 Fox News interview, she said an Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review,” though the department later clarified that no such list existed. Bondi later explained she had been referring broadly to investigative materials, including flight logs, rather than a specific document.

The internal discussions follow another recent high-level personnel change, as Trump removed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, marking the first Cabinet-level dismissal of his second term.

Bondi was not Trump’s initial choice to lead the Justice Department. Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration after failing to secure sufficient support among Senate Republicans. Trump had first considered Bondi for a role in his administration in 2018 following the dismissal of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

She was ultimately confirmed in 2025 by a 54-46 Senate vote that largely split along party lines. During her confirmation process, Bondi told lawmakers she would not use the Justice Department to improperly target individuals through politically motivated investigations, including those similar to cases previously brought against Trump.