President Donald Trump appears to be in no rush to replace fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
After firing Bondi last week, Trump tapped his former personal attorney, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, to serve in the role in an acting capacity. But the president is in no rush to find a permanent replacement, Bloomberg reported.
The Trump White House has reportedly not been engaged in talks about whether Blanche could eventually be that permanent replacement. One White House official told the outlet that Blanche is not certain to receive the nomination, due to the White House’s concern that he would not be able to get Senate confirmation.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Blanche caused more chaos by offering no clarity on who was in charge.
He was asked “when is Pam Bondi’s last day on the job?” but failed to answer.
“I am the acting attorney general,” he said. “As far as Pam Bondi’s last day on the job, I’m the acting attorney general. I’m going with her, we’re traveling together tomorrow to a pre-scheduled event, so she’ll be with me tomorrow. We’ve been regularly communicating for the last few days for an appropriate transition.”
He also dodged whether he wants the top job, and said, “I did not ask for this job. I love working for President Trump. It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime, and if President Trump chooses to keep me as acting, that’s an honor,” he said.
“If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the [Deputy Attorney General], that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say, ‘thank you very much, I love you, sir,’” he continued.
Blanche also said he had no idea why Bondi was fired from her role last week.
“Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general, and I’m the acting attorney general, except for President Trump,” he confessed.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson did not directly respond to the Daily Beast’s inquiry about Trump not rushing to find a permanent replacement, but said Blanche is a “tireless advocate for sanity, law and order, and policies that keep Americans safe.”
The Daily Beast also reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Bondi reportedly tried to make a last-ditch attempt at keeping her job even after Trump informed her that her axing was coming soon. She met with a federal prosecutor in Florida to inquire about when charges can be brought against one of Trump’s perceived political enemies, former CIA Director John Brennan, CNN reported.
While she and Trump rode to the Supreme Court together last week, she asked to keep her job through the summer, but her efforts were to no avail, as Trump told her, “I think it’s time.”
While the president’s first term was marked by a constant turnover in staff, as he routinely fired people via Twitter or they stormed out of his administration on their own accord, Trump has been much more restrained in his second term —until recent weeks.
After firing both his attorney general and Homeland Security secretary within weeks of each other, the erratic 79-year-old president is said to be leaning towards canning more members of his administration, Reuters reported.
The outlet reported that Trump has grown increasingly frustrated by the fallout from his war in Iran and lack of positive media coverage in recent weeks, but not enough to change his own messaging to the public. He is looking to can more people before the 2026 midterm elections, which is expected to go very poorly for the GOP.
“Let’s just say, based on what I have heard, Bondi is not the last one,” one White House official said.
