Pam Bondi speaks out as Donald Trump unexpectedly fires her as attorney general

Attorney General Pam Bondi has spoken out after being fired from her powerful position by Donald Trump.

News broke on Thursday (2 Apr) that the 60-year-old's 14-month tenure at the Justice Department would soon come to an end following a decision by the Republican leader.

Taking to Truth Social, 79-year-old Trump described Bondi as a 'Great American Patriot and a loyal friend', whilst simultaneously announcing she was on her way out after just over a year.

Responding to the news, Bondi took to X, where she gloated over some of her alleged achievements. In a statement, she claimed she oversaw 'easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history' during her stint.

She added that she's 'eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me'.

Bondi shared a statement on X (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Bondi confirmed that her current Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, would fill the position as she moves over to the private sector.

Discussing the transition, the Florida-local described the career shift as something she's 'thrilled about'.

Trump's decision to fire Bondi comes just weeks after he pushed out ex-Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, making her the second Cabinet official to be suddenly let go during his second term.

Bondi's removal from the position follows months of controversy surrounding Bondi's handling of the release of the Epstein files - federal documents relating to the crimes of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which were used to convict him in 2019.

She is due to testify before the House Oversight Committee on her overseeing of the Epstein Transparency Act next month.

Bondi has been criticised for her handling of the Epstein files (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)

A number of Epstein's victims, as well as those close to them, have since celebrated the news of Bondi's removal from the Attorney General position.

Taking to social media, the family of late survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died last year, wrote of her exit: "Alliance to a corrupt agenda never serves you. Another one falls on the sword to protect the powerful!

"We hope she has the courage to testify and actually do right by survivors this time."

Despite the response from critics, Blanche claimed during an interview on Thursday afternoon that Bondi's firing has nothing to do with the handling of the Epstein files.

He told Fox News: "I have never heard President Trump say that the attorney general was – that anything that happened to her had anything to do with the Epstein files."

Todd Blanche will replace Pam Bondi as Attorney General (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Blanche went on to insist that the Justice Department has 'released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga', a much-contested claim.

"To the extent the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this justice department, it should not be a part of anything going forward," he added.