Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Did Pam Bondi just save her job?

The cameras were on Pam Bondi as she spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and she put on the performance of a lifetime — or at least one to keep the boss happy.

This was the attorney general's big day. Facing pressure from Donald Trump to bring criminal charges against his enemies, Bondi aimed Tuesday to show the president she can take on the left.

To the rest of Washington, Tuesday’s hearing was a surreal and dismaying look into how the federal government’s political appointees under a second Trump presidency have become consumed with style over substance, and often seem uninterested or not knowledgeable about various aspects of their jobs.

For Bondi, the focus was on scoring political points by attacking Democrats at every conceivable opportunity; especially Sen. Adam Schiff, who remains one of her boss’ most hated foes in Washington.

But when pressed with real questions about her job and the Department of Justice, Bondi floundered — showing her unpreparedness for more than a Crossfire-style debate with unknowledgeable pundits.

“What about the fires in California?” Bondi asked at one point, directing an awkward jab at the senator from California who had led an impeachment proceeding in her boss’ first term, and whom she dubbed a “failed lawyer” as she tossed out increasingly desperate insults.

In general, even with her proven rhetorical quickness, she remains in a tight spot: responsible, ultimately, for seeing some of Donald Trump’s outlandish revenge fantasies come to life.

Read more here.

By John Bowden

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Daily briefing

Trump warns ‘Grim Reaper’ Russ Vought will start cutting American jobs in ‘4 to 5 days’

The president is becoming increasingly frustrated as Democrats refuse to back down on their shutdown demands and Republicans in Congress appear unable to break the stalemate, Andrew Feinberg reports.

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