Kristi Noem might not be alone in her departure from President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is potentially next on the chopping block, according to a report published on Wednesday by The New York Times.
Trump, 79, has reportedly discussed firing Bondi as the nation’s top prosecutor in recent days, the newspaper reported, citing four people familiar with the conversations.
The sources, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that the president had tossed around the idea of replacing Bondi with Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin, 46, was notably seated in the front row for Trump’s prime-time address on Wednesday. Bondi was also present, according to a pool report.
Trump and Bondi appeared together on Wednesday at the Supreme Court’s oral arguments over birthright citizenship.
The duo left the court after just over an hour, as the Supreme Court justices—three of whom were appointed by Trump—appeared skeptical of limiting birthright citizenship.
Bondi had said during a Fox News panel on Friday that “being a citizen in our country is a privilege, it’s not a right.”
“Donald Trump is going to have everyone in this country who deserves to be here, who’s a citizen,” she said. “Sure, it could be faster, it could be easier, but I think we’re moving at lightning speed, given what we’re up against.”
The Times reported that Trump has seemingly been frustrated with Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files.
Bondi, 60, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee last month to testify over the DOJ’s investigation into the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her deposition is scheduled for April 14.
Bondi’s last hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in February did not reflect well on the Attorney General, as she melted down under pressure and used a “burn book” to insult the Democratic lawmakers asking her questions.
The president has also complained about her poor communication skills and a perceived lack of aggressiveness from the department in targeting his adversaries, according to the outlet.
In September, Trump accidentally shared a message to his millions of followers on Truth Social, addressed to “Pam,” complaining about her failure to indict people like former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
However, Trump told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job.”
Zeldin received a J.D. from Albany Law School in 2003 and was admitted to the New York State Bar the following year. He became an attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2007, before starting his own general law practice the following year, which he operated full-time until he was elected to the New York Senate in 2010.
The former failed New York governor hopeful has been a trusted ally of the president throughout his second term, holding firm in his mission to promote Trump’s idea of “energy dominance.”
Trump even called Zeldin “our secret weapon” during a White House event about the coal industry in February, saying, “he’s getting those approvals done in record-setting time.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the DOJ and the EPA for comment.
If Trump goes ahead with his decision to ax Bondi, it would be the second ousting throughout his second term.
On March 5, Trump announced on Truth Social that Noem, 54, would be replaced by Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin as the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security.
The president said that Noem had “served us well” before appointing her as the “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a job that had not existed before his announcement.
Her firing came just two days after she was grilled at a hearing on Capitol Hill about a $220 million campaign ad featuring her prominently.
