Pam Bondi Biography, Florida’s First Female AG to America’s 87th Attorney General

Not many lawyers can say they went from trying domestic violence cases in a Tampa courthouse to standing at the center of America’s most politically charged justice department controversies. Pam Bondi is one of them.

The Pam Bondi biography covers a career that spans three decades — from an 18-year run as a state prosecutor to two terms as Florida’s first female attorney general to a confirmed seat as the 87th Attorney General of the United States. And then, in April 2026, a firing that ended her tenure abruptly, just over a year after it began.

She’s been celebrated as a trailblazer, criticized as a loyalist, and scrutinized as a lobbyist. Understanding who she actually is requires looking at the whole picture — the courtroom, the campaigns, the controversies, and the choices.

Who Is Pam Bondi? A Quick Summary

Pamela Jo Bondi is an American attorney and politician, born on November 17, 1965, in Tampa, Florida. She served as the 37th Florida Attorney General from 2011 to 2019, making history as the first woman ever elected to that office. In February 2025, she was confirmed as the 87th Attorney General of the United States under President Donald Trump, before being fired in April 2026 amid controversy over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Before entering government, she spent 18 years as a prosecutor and later became a lobbyist and one of Trump’s most visible legal defenders.

Early Life and Family Background

Fourth-Generation Floridian Roots

Pam Bondi is a fourth-generation Floridian — a detail she’s been proud to cite throughout her career. Her family’s roots in the Sunshine State run deep, which she has connected to a genuine sense of stewardship for the state she went on to serve. She was born in Tampa but raised in Temple Terrace, a small, tight-knit suburb just northeast of the city.

She is of Italian and German descent on her parents’ sides, though this aspect of her heritage rarely gets discussed in public profiles.

A Politically Engaged Father and the Temple Terrace Upbringing

Her father, Joseph C. Bondi Jr., was not simply a family man — he was a civic figure. He served as a city council member in Temple Terrace and then as its mayor from 1974 to 1978. He was also a professor. Her mother, Patsy Loretta Bondi (née Hammer), was an elementary school teacher.

Growing up in a household where local government was a daily reality — where your father’s decisions were discussed at the dinner table and neighbors came to him with complaints — shapes a person’s sense of public accountability in ways that classroom civics never can. Bondi absorbed that early.

Growing Up With a Civic Duty Mindset

Bondi has described her upbringing as rooted in public service values. The family’s standing in Temple Terrace meant that community involvement wasn’t optional — it was assumed. That early grounding in the idea that people in positions of authority owe something to their neighbors likely explains some of her courtroom motivation later in life: she wasn’t just interested in law as an abstract career, but in what law could actually do for people.

Siblings and Family Ties

She is one of three children. Her siblings include a sister, Beth Bondi McIntyre, and a brother, Bradley J. Bondi, who is also an attorney. The family’s legal and civic traditions seem to have run across generations, though Pam is unquestionably the most publicly prominent of the three.

Pam Bondi’s Education: From Criminal Justice to Stetson Law

King High School to University of Florida

Bondi attended C. Leon King High School in Tampa, graduating in 1983. From there, she initially enrolled at the University of South Florida before transferring to the University of Florida in Gainesville — one of the country’s major public universities and a natural destination for ambitious Floridians. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in 1987.

The choice of criminal justice as a major was consistent with who she’d turn out to be. She wasn’t drawn to corporate law or estate planning. She wanted to understand how society responds to wrongdoing.

Stetson University College of Law and Becoming a Florida Lawyer

After the University of Florida, Bondi attended Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, earning her Juris Doctor in 1990. Stetson is one of Florida’s most well-regarded law schools, known particularly for its trial advocacy program. That emphasis on courtroom practice turned out to be perfectly matched to what Bondi’s career would require.

She was admitted to the Florida Bar on June 24, 1991, and began her professional legal career almost immediately afterward.

Delta Delta Delta and College Life

At the University of Florida, Bondi was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. It’s a small biographical detail, but it says something about her social integration during college years — she was engaged in campus life, built connections, and thrived in group environments. Those social skills would serve her well in a legal career that required reading rooms, connecting with jurors, and eventually running statewide campaigns.

Building a Legal Career: 18 Years as a Hillsborough County Prosecutor

What She Did in the Courtroom

In the early 1990s, Bondi joined the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in Tampa as an assistant state attorney. She stayed for 18 years — not exactly a common trajectory in a profession where ambitious lawyers often move to private firms for higher pay within five or six years. Her commitment to prosecution was genuine.

During those 18 years, she tried cases ranging from domestic violence to capital murder. That range matters. Domestic violence work requires emotional intelligence, victim advocacy skills, and sensitivity to power dynamics. Capital murder cases demand precision, stamina, and the ability to carry enormous responsibility in the courtroom. Bondi did both.

The Cases That Shaped Her Legal Philosophy

Prosecutors who spend nearly two decades in state criminal courts develop a particular worldview about justice: that the law exists to protect the vulnerable, that communities deserve safety, and that the courtroom is where accountability actually happens. Whether you agree with all of Bondi’s later political positions or not, it’s worth acknowledging that she spent 18 years doing the unglamorous daily work of prosecution — not chasing high-profile clients or building a boutique practice.

Her Style With Juries — Why She Was Known for Being “Personable”

Britannica notes that Bondi was known for a “personable style in the courtroom, which helped her connect with jurors.” That’s a meaningful professional skill. The ability to make jurors feel comfortable, to speak plainly, and to make complex legal arguments feel human is not something you can teach in a classroom. She developed it over nearly two decades.

She also began branching out as a legal analyst, appearing as a guest commentator on Fox News and CNN, which gave her a media presence that most prosecutors never develop.

The Switch From Democrat to Republican — and What Drove It

One of the more interesting biographical facts about Bondi is that her first voter registration — in 1984 — was as a Democrat. She changed her registration to Republican in 2000. In a 2010 interview, she said she had “always been conservative” — which creates an obvious inconsistency with a Democratic registration that lasted 16 years. But political evolution in Florida during the 1990s and 2000s tracked with broader national trends in the South, and Bondi’s shift from Democrat to Republican wasn’t unusual for the region during that period.

Running for Florida Attorney General in 2010

The Republican Primary and Sarah Palin’s Endorsement

When Bondi decided to leave the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in December 2009 and enter the race for Florida attorney general, she was stepping into a competitive Republican primary against former state representative Holly Benson and Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp. She wasn’t the establishment pick. But she was the candidate who earned the endorsement of Sarah Palin, who was still one of the most energizing figures in conservative grassroots politics at the time. That endorsement, combined with the Tea Party wave sweeping the country, boosted her primary prospects.

She ultimately won the primary with 37.89% of the vote.

Defeating Dan Gelber — Becoming Florida’s First Female AG

In the general election, Bondi faced Democrat Dan Gelber, a former prosecutor who had spent a decade in the state legislature. Despite the credential match, Bondi won — receiving approximately 54.8% of the vote. The result made history. She became the first woman ever elected as Florida’s Attorney General.

What the Win Meant Historically

Florida had existed as a state since 1845, and no woman had ever held the office of attorney general before Bondi. That’s a long time. Her win wasn’t just a personal achievement — it was a genuine milestone in the state’s political history, and it came without her making gender the centerpiece of her campaign. She ran on substance and won on substance.

Pam Bondi as Florida Attorney General (2011–2019)

The Pill Mill Crisis and Florida’s Opioid War

When Bondi took office in 2011, Florida had a staggering problem: it was known as the “pill mill capital of the United States.” Of the top 100 oxycodone dispensers in the entire country, 98 of them were operating in Florida. These were clinics that essentially sold prescription opioids with minimal medical justification, fueling a drug crisis that was devastating communities.

In her very first legislative session, Bondi pushed through legislation targeting these operations. She worked to shut down all 98 of those unscrupulous clinics. This was one of the most concrete, data-measurable policy achievements of her tenure — and it’s often overlooked in national coverage that focuses on her political controversies.

Fighting Human Trafficking — Building the Florida Statewide Council

Bondi made human trafficking a signature issue during her time as AG. She pushed to strengthen Florida’s anti-trafficking laws, raised public awareness, and worked to increase resources for victims. Under her leadership, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Statewide Human Trafficking Council, and she chaired it until the end of her tenure. Her record on trafficking was one of the more substantive areas of bipartisan respect during her years in office.

The ACA Lawsuit and What It Was About

Bondi was the lead attorney general in a multistate lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. The lawsuit argued that the individual mandate — the requirement for Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty — was unconstitutional. The case ultimately went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the ACA.

In 2018, she joined 19 other Republican-led state attorneys general in a second lawsuit, this one targeting the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. That lawsuit was also ultimately unsuccessful.

Same-Sex Marriage Defense and the Anderson Cooper Moment

Bondi defended Florida’s Amendment 2 — a 2008 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage — against legal challenges on behalf of the state. Her stated position was that she was defending the constitution of Florida, not expressing her personal views.

The contradiction between that professional stance and her public comments about the LGBTQ community came to a head dramatically in June 2016, following the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. When Bondi appeared on CNN and expressed support for the LGBTQ community, anchor Anderson Cooper challenged her directly, pointing out that her record of defending the state’s same-sex marriage ban was at odds with that expression of support. The exchange was uncomfortable viewing — one of the defining public moments of her time in state government.

Greyhound Racing and Animal Welfare Advocacy

This is a side of Bondi’s record that rarely gets attention in political profiles: she championed a ballot measure banning greyhound racing in Florida. The measure passed. She also developed a reputation for animal welfare causes more broadly. It’s a dimension of her public persona that crosses typical political lines — animal welfare doesn’t fit neatly into conservative or liberal categories.

Re-Election in 2014 and the Second Term

Bondi was re-elected in November 2014, receiving 55% of the vote against Democratic challenger George Sheldon, who received 42%. Her second term was constrained by the controversies that had emerged in her first — the Trump donation story, her Fox News appearances while still in office, and the heightened political environment of the Trump era — but she served out the full term.

The Execution Delay Controversy

In 2013, Bondi persuaded Governor Rick Scott to postpone a scheduled execution because it conflicted with a kickoff fundraising event for her re-election campaign. The typical protocol requires the attorney general to be available during executions in case last-minute legal decisions arise. The idea that an execution could be moved for a campaign fundraiser caused significant public outcry. Bondi apologized publicly and committed to never allowing that to happen again. The headline “Attorney general vows to never again delay an execution for a fundraiser” was not exactly the kind of press release her team had hoped to generate.

The Trump University Donation Scandal

This is probably the most significant ethical controversy of Bondi’s time as Florida AG. In 2013, just days after her office had received at least 22 fraud complaints about Trump University and was reportedly considering joining a lawsuit initiated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a PAC supporting Bondi’s re-election received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation.

Bondi subsequently declined to join the New York lawsuit against Trump University. Both she and Trump maintained the donation had nothing to do with that decision. The IRS later determined the donation violated laws against political contributions from nonprofit organizations and ordered Trump to pay a fine. The Trump Foundation was also required to reimburse the donation. In 2019, a New York court ordered Trump to close the foundation and pay $2 million in damages for misusing it, with the Bondi donation cited among the violations.

After the AG Office — Lobbying, Qatar, and the Trump Orbit (2019–2024)

Joining Ballard Partners as a Lobbyist

After her final term as Florida attorney general ended in 2019, Bondi joined Ballard Partners, a prominent Washington lobbying firm with deep connections to the Trump orbit. The transition from top state law enforcement officer to corporate lobbyist was seamless — and the client list was substantial.

Working as a Registered Foreign Agent for Qatar

Among her lobbying work, Bondi registered as a foreign agent for the State of Qatar. Her work with Qatar was described as relating to anti-human-trafficking efforts connected to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She left the Qatari project in 2019 when she took on work related to Trump’s first impeachment proceedings, but the association remained a talking point for critics who noted the irony of a former AG-turned-foreign agent-turned-AG again.

What Her Lobbying Clients Included

Through Ballard Partners, Bondi lobbied on behalf of a wide range of clients, including Amazon, Uber, General Motors, the Florida Sheriffs Association, for-profit prison operator GEO Group, and KGL KSCC, a company incorporated in Kuwait. Her lobbying income between 2023 and 2024 alone reportedly exceeded $1 million. During her Senate confirmation hearings in January 2025, Democratic senators questioned her extensively about potential conflicts of interest arising from this client list.

The America First Policy Institute

By 2024, Bondi had moved from the lobbying world into a more explicitly political lane, leading the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute — a Trump-aligned think tank that serves as a policy infrastructure hub for conservative legal strategies. She served as chair of the Center for Litigation and co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice. This work positioned her as a key architect of the conservative legal agenda heading into the 2024 election cycle.

Defending Trump — From Impeachment Trials to the 2024 Election

Her Role in the First Senate Impeachment Trial (2020)

In November 2019, Bondi was hired by the Trump administration to help the White House navigate the first impeachment proceedings. Her role was described as being to “attack the process” of the impeachment inquiry. On January 17, 2020, she was named as part of Trump’s formal defense team for the Senate trial.

During the trial, Bondi made public allegations that former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in corruption in Ukraine, stemming from Hunter Biden’s position on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. Her Senate floor arguments became a template for the counter-narrative Trump allies would use in that trial.

The 2020 RNC Speech and the “Lock Her Up” Moment

At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Bondi took the stage and, in a now-infamous moment, led “Lock Her Up” chants directed at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. At the 2020 RNC, she appeared again, this time making allegations about Joe Biden’s family’s activities in Ukraine. These convention appearances cemented her identity as one of Trump’s most visible public defenders — not just a legal technician but a political surrogate.

The 2020 Election and Her Election Fraud Claims

After the 2020 presidential election, Bondi actively backed Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud. On November 5, 2020, when asked by Fox News host Steve Doocy to produce evidence for those fraud claims, she declined. She later claimed Trump had won Pennsylvania despite votes still being counted. These positions aligned her with the “Big Lie” — the false claim that the 2020 election had been stolen — which would become a defining fault line in American politics.

Becoming a Key Voice in Trump’s Legal Defense Network

Between 2019 and 2024, Bondi transformed from a state official into one of the most reliable members of the Trump legal defense apparatus. She was on television defending him, at conventions campaigning for him, and in the Senate chambers arguing for him. When his 2024 campaign needed an attorney general nomination, she was positioned perfectly.

From Matt Gaetz to Pam Bondi — How She Got the Nomination

On November 13, 2024, President-elect Trump initially named U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general. Gaetz’s nomination collapsed almost immediately under the weight of sexual abuse and sex trafficking allegations. Eight days later, on November 21, 2024, Trump pivoted and named Pam Bondi as his new choice.

For Trump’s team, Bondi offered something Gaetz could not: confirmed Senate support, a legitimate legal résumé, and name recognition as a former state attorney general who had already demonstrated unconditional loyalty through multiple years of public service on his behalf.

Senate Confirmation as the 87th U.S. Attorney General

The Hearing Questions and What Democrats Challenged

Bondi faced two hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee — on January 15 and January 16, 2025. Democratic senators pressed her repeatedly on four major fronts: her past lobbying work and potential conflicts of interest, her position on the 2020 election results, her relationship with Trump, and her views on TikTok and foreign-owned media. She was carefully evasive on most of the politically charged questions, declining to commit to positions that might create problems either with Trump or with her confirmation prospects.

The 54–46 Vote and Senator Fetterman’s Role

On January 29, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination 12–10 along party lines. The full Senate confirmed her on February 4, 2025, in a 54–46 vote. The only Democratic senator to cross party lines and vote “aye” was Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. It was a relatively smooth confirmation by the standards of Trump’s second-term cabinet battles.

Day One Orders at the Department of Justice

On February 5, 2025, Bondi was sworn in as the 87th Attorney General of the United States. She moved quickly, issuing a flurry of orders on her first day that signaled the DOJ’s direction under the new administration — prioritizing the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, reversing policies from the Biden era, and making clear that the department’s resources would align with Trump’s priorities.

Tenure as U.S. Attorney General (February 2025 – April 2026)

Priorities and Early Actions at the DOJ

During her tenure, Bondi oversaw a DOJ that was aggressively pursuing the Trump administration’s core objectives — aggressive immigration enforcement, pursuing investigations into perceived political opponents, and dramatically reshaping the department’s internal culture. She was a public face of a department that critics argued had become more a tool of executive political will than an independent institution of justice.

The Epstein Files — The Controversy That Defined Her Tenure

Nothing damaged Bondi’s credibility more during her tenure than the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker who died in federal custody in 2019, had been the subject of speculation about the existence of a “client list” that supposedly implicated powerful figures in his trafficking network. Bondi, in a February 2025 Fox News interview, said the client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review” — a statement that generated enormous interest and expectation.

In July 2025, the Justice Department released a memo stating there was no evidence that Epstein kept such a client list and that the files did not contain what people had expected. The contradiction between Bondi’s earlier public statement and the DOJ’s own conclusion created a political firestorm. Conservative media figures who had championed the Epstein revelations felt betrayed, and Democrats pushed for congressional testimony. In March 2026, Bondi was subpoenaed to answer questions from Congress about the files.

The October 2025 Assassination Threat Against Her

In October 2025, a man with an existing criminal record was arrested and charged with offering a $45,000 bounty to kill Pam Bondi. The incident underscored the heightened security environment around senior officials in the Trump administration and was largely unreported in the biographical profiles that have been written about her.

Growing Tensions With the White House

By early 2026, reporting surfaced that Trump was dissatisfied with Bondi’s performance — specifically around the Epstein files controversy, but also over what sources described as a failure to move aggressively enough on the cases he wanted pursued. The New York Times reported in April 2026 that Trump had considered replacing her with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

Pam Bondi Fired — What Happened in April 2026

Why Trump Fired Her

On April 2, 2026, Trump announced he had fired Pam Bondi as Attorney General. In his Truth Social statement, Trump acknowledged she had done “a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime” before announcing her departure. The firing came alongside the dismissal of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, part of a broader reshaping of his cabinet.

The proximate cause was the Epstein files handling — a situation that had alienated both MAGA supporters who felt she had betrayed them and oversight-minded Democrats who believed the files had been mishandled. Her roughly 14-month tenure makes her one of the shortest-serving Senate-confirmed attorneys general in modern history.

Todd Blanche as Acting Attorney General

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — who had previously been Trump’s personal defense attorney — stepped in immediately as acting attorney general. Blanche praised Bondi’s service in a post on X, calling her tenure marked by “strength and conviction.”

Her Legacy at the DOJ

Bondi’s legacy at the DOJ is contested. Supporters argue she brought needed enforcement energy to the department, cracked down on crime, and implemented Trump’s agenda faithfully. Critics argue she transformed the DOJ into a political tool and mishandled the Epstein investigation in ways that damaged public trust in the institution.

What’s beyond dispute is that she was at the center of some of the most consequential and controversial actions taken by the Trump second-term Justice Department — and her firing, like her hiring, reflected the volatile political environment she operated in.

Personal Life — Marriages, Relationships, and Private World

Marriage to Garret Barnes (1990–1992)

Pam Bondi married Garret Barnes in 1990, the same year she graduated from Stetson Law School. The marriage lasted only 22 months before ending in divorce in 1992. She has never spoken extensively about what went wrong, and the relationship remains largely private.

Marriage to Scott Fitzgerald (1996–2002)

Four years after her first divorce, Bondi married Scott Fitzgerald in 1996. This marriage lasted six years before ending in 2002. Neither marriage produced children. Bondi has remained notably private about both relationships, rarely addressing them in interviews.

The Greg Henderson Engagement

In 2012, Bondi was engaged to Greg Henderson, an ophthalmologist. A wedding was reportedly planned for the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, though it was ultimately postponed. The engagement ended by 2015 without a public explanation from either party.

John Wakefield — Her Current Partner

Since 2017, Bondi has been in a relationship with John Wakefield, described as a property investor. The couple has maintained an intentionally low public profile, though Wakefield was present during her Senate confirmation hearings in January 2025. Bondi has spoken warmly of him in the limited personal interviews she’s given.

Pam Bondi’s Net Worth and Financial Picture

Bondi’s net worth has been estimated at various figures depending on the source and timing — ranging from approximately $8 million to $12 million as of 2026, reflecting three decades of legal work, lobbying income, media appearances, and government salaries.

Key income streams have included:

• Government salary as Florida Attorney General over two terms (2011–2019)
• Lobbying income at Ballard Partners (her income reportedly exceeded $1 million between 2023 and 2024)
• Work defending Trump during the first impeachment proceedings
• Leadership at the America First Policy Institute
• Federal executive-level salary as U.S. Attorney General (approximately $221,400 annually)
• Stock and equity arrangements, including disclosed compensation from Renatus Advisors LLC related to Digital World Acquisition Corp (Truth Social’s parent company)

Pam Bondi Quick Facts

Frequently Asked Questions About Pam Bondi

Who is Pam Bondi married to?

Pam Bondi has been married twice but is currently not married. She was first married to Garret Barnes from 1990 to 1992, and then to Scott Fitzgerald from 1996 to 2002. Both marriages ended in divorce. She was engaged to Greg Henderson in 2012, but that engagement ended without a wedding. Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with John Wakefield, a property investor, who accompanied her during her Senate confirmation hearings in January 2025.

What did Pam Bondi do as Florida Attorney General?

During her two terms as Florida Attorney General (2011–2019), Bondi’s major policy efforts included cracking down on opioid pill mills (shutting down the clinics that had made Florida the top state for illegal oxycodone dispensing), leading the Florida Statewide Human Trafficking Council, challenging the Affordable Care Act in two separate multistate lawsuits, defending Florida’s same-sex marriage ban, and championing animal welfare causes including the ban on greyhound racing.

Why was Pam Bondi fired as attorney general?

President Trump fired Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, primarily due to growing dissatisfaction with her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. After Bondi publicly stated in February 2025 that an Epstein “client list” was on her desk for review, the DOJ subsequently released a memo in July 2025 saying no such list existed. The contradiction alienated Trump’s base and led to congressional pressure and a subpoena for her testimony. Combined with other concerns about her pace of implementing Trump’s judicial priorities, the dissatisfaction culminated in her firing approximately 14 months into her tenure.

Is Pam Bondi a Democrat or Republican?

Pam Bondi is a Republican, but she was originally registered as a Democrat — her first voter registration in 1984 was with the Democratic Party. She changed her registration to Republican in 2000. In a 2010 interview, she described herself as having “always been conservative,” a characterization that appears to conflict with her 16-year Democratic registration. Her political evolution is consistent with broader demographic trends in Florida and the South during the 1990s and early 2000s.

What is Pam Bondi’s net worth?

Pam Bondi’s net worth is estimated at approximately $8 million to $12 million as of 2026. This reflects her three decades in legal work, her two terms’ worth of government salary as Florida AG, her substantial lobbying income at Ballard Partners (reportedly exceeding $1 million between 2023 and 2024), her work on Trump’s impeachment defense, her role at the America First Policy Institute, and her federal salary as U.S. Attorney General.

What did Pam Bondi do for Trump?

Bondi has been one of Trump’s most consistent public defenders since 2016. She served on his 2016 presidential transition team, helped defend him during the first Senate impeachment trial in January 2020, appeared at both the 2016 and 2020 Republican National Conventions to campaign for him, amplified his 2020 election fraud claims publicly, led the legal arm of his America First Policy Institute, and ultimately served as his appointed U.S. Attorney General from February 2025 until she was fired in April 2026.

What qualifications does Pam Bondi have?

Bondi has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Florida (1987) and a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law (1990). She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1991. Before entering politics, she worked for 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, trying cases from domestic violence to capital murder. She served two terms as Florida Attorney General and was confirmed as U.S. Attorney General by the Senate 54–46 in February 2025.

Who replaced Pam Bondi as attorney general?

After Trump fired Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche became acting Attorney General. Blanche had previously served as Trump’s personal defense attorney during his criminal trials, most notably the New York hush-money case that led to Trump’s conviction on 34 counts. Trump praised Blanche as “a very talented and respected Legal Mind” in his Truth Social announcement about Bondi’s departure.