It wasn’t any one thing—and it was “never enough.”
President Trump’s decision to fire Pam Bondi as his attorney general yesterday was wrapped up in his dissatisfaction with her inability to quell uproar over the Epstein files—but also what he viewed as either a failure or slow pace pursuing the rest of his agenda, like prosecuting political enemies.
Bondi tried to appease her boss, from weak probes of some of his favorite targets to a banner with his face on it hanging outside the Justice Department, but it was “never enough,” the WSJ reported yesterday. Bondi started at a disadvantage; she wasn’t Trump’s first choice. First, he had wanted Matt Gaetz before scandal made his confirmation an impossibility.
Meanwhile, those outside Trump’s orbit saw Bondi’s tenure as responsible for a near-complete erosion of the Justice Department’s independence. There were some unforgivable mistakes—like releasing versions of the Epstein files with unredacted nude images of young women or possibly teenage girls. Ultimately, no one was happy.
Bondi is the second cabinet member Trump has fired in as many months; the last was Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary. Despite those two ousters, there are still several women left in Trump’s cabinet: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Kelly Loeffler at the helm of the Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon as secretary of education, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
One of the most fascinating parts of Bondi’s firing is reading about the relationships between these women at the center of MAGA world. The WSJ reports that Bondi was close with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, even after Wiles said in December that Bondi didn’t fully understand voters’ desire for information on Epstein. Recently, Bondi was reportedly asking mutual friends about Wiles, who is receiving treatment for breast cancer. Wiles gave the Journal an interview about Bondi’s departure: “Pam is a brilliant, kind, thoughtful person and the next chapter of her life will be a wonderful one,” she said.
With 14 months in the role, Bondi ended up with the shortest tenure of any confirmed attorney general in 60 years.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
OpenAI's surprise acquisition of TBPN was spearheaded by Fidji Simo. The AI company acquired the daily tech news show, which is popular among Silicon Valley types. Simo was a fan of the show and felt that OpenAI "needed to think outside of the box when it came to promoting its vision."
Dawn Staley's record-setting salary had ripple effects in women's basketball. During the last five years, coaches who’ve remained in their college-level women's basketball jobs have seen their salaries rise by 45%—likely influenced by Staley's decision to fight for higher pay via nontraditional negotiating methods.
Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni suffers a blow. A judge dismissed Lively's claims of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us—partly because as an actress, she was an independent contractor and did not qualify for some workplace protections, he said. But Lively's allegation of retaliation—as seen in a widely reported digital smear campaign—will be allowed to proceed. Baldoni has denied all allegations.
What's next for 60 Minutes? Tanya Simon is only the fourth person to oversee the news program in its history and the first woman to do so. But she was only given a one-year contract in the role. After overhauls throughout the rest of CBS News under Bari Weiss, all eyes are on what happens when Simon's contract is up and whether an outsider might be brought in to run the program for the first time ever.
The U.S. removed sanctions against Venezuela's leader. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez was taken off the Treasury Department's Specifically Designated Nationals list, which barred American companies and individuals from doing business with her. The White House calls the move a sign of "progress" between the U.S. and Venezuela and says Rodriguez is "doing a great job."
ON MY RADAR
The next British invasion is here, and it's led by women NYT
What it's like being a Black beauty founder today The Cut
The woman who made the machine that made Zohran Mamdani New Yorker
PARTING WORDS
"You think you know exactly what you are going to need to know, and it’s nothing like that."
— Laura Dern on serving as caregiver to her mom, actress Diane Ladd
