From prosecuting criminals in Florida to battling scrutiny over her political influence in Washington, Pam Bondi’s ascendency to power has been defined by achievement as well as controversy.
Bondi, who began her career as a prosecutor in Florida after earning a law degree from the University of Florida, handled cases involving domestic violence and other serious crimes. Her work earned her recognition as a dedicated and effective attorney. In 2011, she became Florida’s first female Attorney General, a role that she held for eight years.
From 2011 to 2019, Bondi established her reputation by taking firm stances on crime and taking on cases involving opioid abuse and human trafficking. However, as Bondi’s reputation grew, her career also became largely tied to national politics, developing relationships with President Donald Trump.
After Trump won the presidential election in November 2024, he nominated Bondi as the Attorney General (AG) of the United States, the top attorney of the federal government. She was confirmed by the Senate in a partisan 54-46 vote. Bondi was Trump’s second choice for the position after former Representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the midst of sex trafficking allegations. During her confirmation, Democratic senators pressed Bondi on issues such as her former career as a lobbyist for Qatar.
These concerns came from Bondi’s work after she left the Florida Attorney General’s office in 2019 and became involved in political advocacy through lobbying and political action committees (PACs). PACs raise and spend money to influence elections, and Bondi’s being involved in the Trump campaign allowed her to maintain a large amount of political influence even outside of government. This raised questions among critics of whether her decisions as Attorney General would be impartial and independent.
During her tenure as AG, she was tasked with ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, undoing the actions of her predecessors in the Biden administration, and the rollout of the Epstein files. She also supported Trump’s deportation efforts and efforts to eliminate voter fraud.
Bondi also spearheaded efforts to control the fentanyl coming into the country, claiming that the administration’s efforts saved 119 million lives. She increased that claim to 258 million lives two days later.
In March 2026, Bondi’s approval rating sank from a +2 percentage points at the beginning of her term to a -25.
One reason that might explain the precipitous drop in Bondi’s approval rating is her rollout of the Epstein files. During his campaign, Trump promised full transparency of the files. However, that was not the case during his presidency with Bondi reluctant to declassify the files. This was speculated to be an effort to protect the president, who is known to have been friends with Epstein.
Her reluctant rollout of the files is what led to her eventual dismissal on April 2, after just over a year in office. At that point, she had lost the support of even members of her own base, with Representative Thomas Massie (R-WV), a vocal supporter of the declassification of the Epstein files, stating, “I support Trump firing Pam Bondi.”
Bondi’s replacement, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, will serve as acting Attorney General as Bondi transitions to a “much needed and important new job in the private sector,” as President Trump wrote in a statement on Apr. 2.
