WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday the removal of Pam Bondi as attorney general, the nation's chief law enforcement officer.

"We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general, Trump said, referring to his former personal attorney.

According to media reports, Trump was said to be frustrated that Bondi had not done enough to prosecute individuals he views as opponents, such as former FBI Director James Comey and Letitia James, a former New York attorney general.

Trump praised Bondi as a "Great American Patriot and a loyal friend."

Trump highlighted Bondi’s "tremendous job" over the past year, praising her oversight of a “massive crackdown in crime across our country,” which he said contributed to murders reaching their lowest levels since 1900.

Blanche, for his part, thanked Trump for his trust in him to head the Justice Department in an acting capacity.

"We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe," he said on US social media company X.   

'Good riddance'

Bondi becomes the second senior Trump official to depart in recent weeks, after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was removed on March 5 amid concerns over her management of the department and Trump’s immigration agenda.

During her tenure Bondi has attracted criticism over a number of issues, including the Justice Department’s handling of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein under her watch, to insulting and disdainful testimony to Congress last month.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer welcomed Bondi's removal from the post.

"Good riddance. Pam Bondi was the wrong choice from the start," Schumer said on X.

"But the rot at the Department of Justice begins and ends with Donald Trump. As long as his focus is on using DOJ as a tool for revenge and not law enforcement, the cover up of the Epstein files, along with the countless other problems at DOJ, will continue."

Per media reports, one of the prominent issues cited is Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, which turned into a political liability for Trump among his followers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also hailed Bondi's removal.

Pam Bondi has been fired. Good riddance," Jeffries said on X, also predicting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be "next."

While Trump reportedly is unhappy that Bondi did not go after his enemies with enough vigor, or success, critics of Bondi say she had turned the Justice Department from a nonpartisan Cabinet department to a private law firm serving the president’s political aims.