Why did Trump pick this week to fire his hyper-loyal but clumsy attorney general, Pam Bondi? He has mused about canning Bondi for months.

Well, you might say the president had a bad week. He’s lost interest in his war and can’t figure out a way out. It’s an old pattern for men like Trump—when things are getting rough at the office, kick the cat or maybe the wife.

In his second term, Trump has tried to avoid the pattern that characterized his first term of firing people willy-nilly to take the fall for failed policies or perceived disloyalty. In his second term, the only cabinet officials he has fired so far are women, first DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and now Bondi.

More from Robert Kuttner

Their sins were to embarrass Trump by trying too hard to please the boss by carrying out demands that were unachievable—Noem by trying to pacify Minneapolis but leaving too much blood on the rug, and then further embarrassing the boss by flagrantly conducting an affair with Corey Lewandowski and subsidizing it with public funds.

Bondi’s sins included failing to quite weaponize the Justice Department to Trump’s satisfaction, and above all bungling the Epstein cover-up. But pursuing indictments of James Comey, Letitia James, and others were always fool’s errands. So was defying courts by appointing fake U.S. attorneys for the purpose of intensifying Trump’s vengeful lawfare.

On the merits, there are two male cabinet members at least as worth firing: HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The self-proclaimed secretary of war goaded Trump into making war on Iran, then disclaimed responsibility when the failed war had no strategic plan.

Lately, Hegseth has been on a firing binge of his own, dismissing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. The Army chief of staff is the top military adviser for the secretary of the Army. Ostensibly, Gen. George was fired for refusing to remove four officers—two women and two Black men—from a promotion list at Hegseth’s insistence.

Today On TAP

This story first appeared in our Today On TAP newsletter, a weekday email featuring commentary on the daily news from Robert Kuttner and Harold Meyerson.

More importantly, Gen. George was the last senior military man except for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, who was a source of independent advice on the Iran war. Gen. George was appointed in 2023 during the Biden presidency and worked closely with the former defense secretary, four-star Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III. And since Caine remains a Trump favorite, he’s the one top military man whom Hegseth probably can’t fire, though there is no love lost between the two.

Trump’s whopper on why he fired Bondi—she is taking an important private-sector job—is a lie so routine for Trump that it scarcely got comment. Doubtless the White House is beating the bushes to find her one.

Meanwhile, there has been no further word about the phony job that Trump cooked up to justify Noem’s unceremonious firing, special envoy for Shield of the Americas. Noem has also had a bad week. After her affair with Lewandowski, her husband Bryon Noem began taking and circulating photos of himself cross-dressing, including photos wearing grotesque balloon boobs.

These fell into the hands of the Daily Mail, which published them. Noem’s office put out a statement that she was “devastated.” Good old Republican family values.

What most did in Pam Bondi was her mishandling of the Epstein fallout. She is scheduled to testify before Congress again on April 14. Reportedly, she is resisting, but now that Trump has cut her loose, she has few if any allies in Congress and there are no obstacles to a subpoena.

Jeffrey Epstein is the gift that keeps on giving—as Trump’s women troubles, new and old, refuse to go away.

LIVE EVENT: I will be in conversation with columnist E.J. Dionne on my new political memoir, Notes for Next Time: Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America, next Monday, April 6, at 5:15 p.m. ET, at the Prospect’s Washington offices. Please join us, either live (just a few seats remain) or on Zoom.

Read more

Bumping Bondi

There are several other Trump cabinet members even more deserving of dismissal. Who’s next?

by Robert Kuttner

Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. His latest book is Notes for Next Time: Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America. Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com, and on Twitter.