(SeaPRwire) –   President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has removed Pam Bondi from her post as attorney general, marking the second cabinet official he has fired in the last month.

“Pam Bondi is a terrific American patriot and a loyal friend who served loyally as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump stated in a Truth Social post, commending her track record of cutting down murders and other violent crimes. “We hold Pam in high regard, and she will be moving into a highly necessary and impactful new role in the private sector, with details to be revealed at a later date.”

Trump announced that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as interim attorney general for the time being. One potential candidate to fill the role permanently is Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator and a close political ally of the president.

Per multiple reports, this decision came after days of private deliberations and a tense, direct conversation between Trump and Bondi, where he signaled she would be replaced imminently. The core of his frustration stemmed from Bondi’s handling of the Justice Department’s review of materials tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Her public comments regarding the existence of a so-called client list drew criticism from Trump’s allies, who argued the issue had become a political liability and raised concerns about transparency.

Trump, who has long framed legal battles as a central pillar of his political agenda, had previously voiced frustration over what he saw as the Bondi-led Justice Department’s lack of aggressiveness in pursuing investigations and prosecutions of his political opponents. He had pushed for action in cases involving figures like former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but efforts to file charges faltered. In some instances, indictments were dismissed over procedural issues, which deepened the president’s dissatisfaction with the department’s performance.

Bondi’s tenure was also overshadowed by congressional scrutiny. The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for her to testify about the Epstein matter, with a deposition scheduled for later this month.

Despite the underlying tensions, Bondi remained publicly by the president’s side in recent days, traveling with him to the Supreme Court for Wednesday’s hearing on birthright citizenship and attending his primetime national address at the White House later that same evening.

This firing comes just weeks after Trump ousted Kristi Noem from her role as secretary of homeland security, replacing her with Markwayne Mullin.

Combined, these two dismissals mark a shift away from Trump’s earlier reluctance to remove cabinet members mid-presidency, particularly after his first term was plagued by frequent staff turnover.