Todd Blanche takes over justice department after Pam Bondi sacking – US politics live | US politics
Todd Blanche takes over justice department after Pam Bondi’s firing
Hello, welcome to the live blog of US politics.
Pam Bondi, former aide after being fired by Donald Trump on Thursday Todd Blanche He will take over the justice department until a permanent replacement is approved.
Blanche was the president’s personal attorney before being appointed deputy attorney general in Trump’s second administration. He represented former porn star Stormy Daniels in her hush-hush lawsuit. He also served as Trump’s lead defense attorney in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
Trump praised Blanche as a “very talented and respected Legal Mind” in a social media post on Thursday when he announced her as acting attorney general.
Blanche released a statement following Bondi’s dismissal, saying she was grateful for the “trust and opportunity” to serve as acting attorney general.
“Pam Bondi has led this Department with strength and conviction, and I am grateful for her leadership and friendship,” Blanche added. “We will continue to support blue, enforce the law, and do everything we can to keep America safe.”
important events
Donald Trump is in Washington today. From now on, he will spend his days in closed meetings.
According to the White House calendar, he is not scheduled to be available to the press, but we will let you know if that changes.
Pam Bondi He was Trump’s chief enforcer when it came to going after his perceived political enemies.
As my colleague Sam Levine “He oversaw the purge of career employees assigned to work on criminal cases against Trump and scores of career lawyers with irreplaceable expertise. He also oversaw politically motivated investigations into Trump’s political enemies, including former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James,” he writes.
He now heads the Ministry of Justice. Todd Blanche Will we continue to pursue cases against Comey, James and others? He dodged that question in a Fox News interview Thursday night.
Blanche said Jesse Watters Trump was disappointed with the state of the investigations, but insisted: “We don’t talk about the investigations, but I can tell you that the Department of Justice is working hard every day. It was working yesterday and we will continue to work tomorrow.”
Donald Trump issued another threat to Iran’s transportation and energy infrastructure last nightThe US military “hasn’t even begun to destroy what’s left in Iran. Next are bridges, then Power Plants! The New Regime leadership knows what needs to be done, and it needs to be done FAST!”
Iran later said a second US F-35 fighter jet was shot down over Iran, Reuters reported, and the state news agency said the pilot was unlikely to survive.
The US military announced last month that a US F-35 plane made an emergency landing after performing a combat mission over Iran. The military said the pilot of the jet was in stable condition.
A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters said on Friday that the second F-35 jet was shot down by Revolutionary Guard air defenses over central Iran and that the pilot’s chances of survival were low, Reuters reported.
There was no immediate comment from the US and the Guardian was unable to confirm the report.
You can follow the latest news and updates on the US-Israeli war in Iran on our dedicated live blog:
Sam Levine
Pam Bondi’s swift dismissal Thursday underscores a reality facing Trump loyalists from Jeff Sessions to Kristi Noem: no amount of loyalty is enough to save yourself from being abandoned by Donald Trump.
Since the president took office last year, few people have been more important to his efforts to rebuild government than his longtime friend Bondi.
It wasn’t enough.
You can read the full analysis here:
David Smith
Donald Trump He was accused of running a “misogynistic administration” after Pam Bondi She became the second woman to be fired from a cabinet already dominated by men.
The US president fired the attorney general on Thursday amid growing frustration with his performance, particularly the release of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move comes less than a month after Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following criticism of her management and immigration practices at the department.
Bondi and Noem are the only two cabinet members to lose their jobs so far in Trump’s second term, even as male officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. have been dragged from controversy to controversy.
Todd Blanche takes over justice department after Pam Bondi’s firing
Hello, welcome to the live blog of US politics.
Pam Bondi, former aide after being fired by Donald Trump on Thursday Todd Blanche He will take over the justice department until a permanent replacement is approved.
Blanche was the president’s personal attorney before being appointed deputy attorney general in Trump’s second administration. He represented former porn star Stormy Daniels in her hush-hush lawsuit. He also served as Trump’s lead defense attorney in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
Trump praised Blanche as a “very talented and respected Legal Mind” in a social media post on Thursday when he announced her as acting attorney general.
Blanche released a statement following Bondi’s dismissal, saying she was grateful for the “trust and opportunity” to serve as acting attorney general.
“Pam Bondi has led this Department with strength and conviction, and I am grateful for her leadership and friendship,” Blanche added. “We will continue to support blue, enforce the law, and do everything we can to keep America safe.”
