Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed out

Driving the news: "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," the president posted on Truth Social, "and our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General."

• Bondi is expected to depart the DOJ in 45 days, an administration official told Axios.

Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is widely believed to be Trump's favored pick to replace Bondi, but the administration official told Axios that Blanche is also in the running.

• Other names floated by Trump advisers include: Harmeet K. Dhillon, the head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division; and Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission in Trump's first term.
• Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal defense attorney, thanked the president for the opportunity to serve on an interim basis and applauded Bondi's "strength and conviction" in her leadership.

What she's saying: Bondi said in a statement she will spend the next month working to transition her role to Blanche before "moving to an important private sector role" that she is "thrilled about."

• She will "continue fighting" for Trump and his administration in her new job, per her statement on X, which did not reveal her new role.

Context: The Justice Department has historically operated independently from presidents, but Trump very publicly put pressure on Bondi to target his political rivals.

• Attempts to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey failed.
• But despite her efforts, MAGA activists and influencers demanded more indictments and blamed Bondi for the failure despite the lack of prosecutable evidence.
• "People are going to say it's Epstein, but the president doesn't give a s**t about that. That's a Democrat talking point. That's what the media cares about. This was all about his enemies list and Pam wasn't getting the indictments," a source who discussed the matter with Trump said.

Yes, but: Either way, Trump was clearly frustrated with Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, which caused a stir among the MAGA base.

• Bondi promised early on to release the evidence, claiming there was an Epstein client list on her desk. She then backtracked on the pledge, leading to bipartisan criticism.

• The DOJ botched releasing some of the information after Congress strong-armed the administration into disclosure.
• Recently, enraged House Oversight Committee Democrats stormed out of an Epstein-related briefing and raised the threat of an impeachment, saying that the briefing was not under oath and that Bondi was combative. Oversight lawmakers voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena her over the files.
• Even Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles criticized Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, saying in a December Vanity Fair Interview Bondi "whiffed" at the task.

Reality check: Bondi took her cues, however, from Trump, who made it clear to the administration he didn't want the files released because they had his name in them.

Between the lines: As reports circulated that Trump was considering ousting Bondi, he defended her to CNN and The New York Times, saying she is "a wonderful person and she is doing a good job."

• And on Wednesday, Bondi accompanied the president to the Supreme Court to hear arguments over his executive order restricting birthright citizenship, and was later present at his evening address to the nation.

Go deeper:

• Dems turn their sights to Pam Bondi after Noem firing
• Lawmakers vow to force Pam Bondi to testify despite ouster
• 5 moments that defined Pam Bondi's AG tenure

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details and context throughout.