Day before Trump fired Bondi, US president called attorney general his 'friend'

President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi after several investigations of his perceived enemies were thwarted and her handling of files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein came under criticism. Bondi’s ouster represented Trump’s second removal of a Cabinet official in his second term. He fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and replaced her with Markwayne Mullin, a former senator from Oklahoma. Bondi is expected to be succeeded temporarily by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. A day before Trump fired Bondi, he called her a "friend" at a White House event. Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/02/pam-bondi-fired-attorney-general/89433774007/ Sign up for our newsletter for the day's top stories, from sports to movies to politics to world events: https://profile.usatoday.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/