A chorus of top MAGA voices are calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi's removal over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and her combative congressional testimony on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The Justice Department has ended its release of documents related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender, but Americans' thirst for answers and additional prosecutions persists, cracking the conservative coalition and causing a headache for President Trump.
Driving the news: Bondi testified for roughly five hours Wednesday, facing accusatory questions and heated exchanges over the Epstein files.
- Some of Epstein's survivors attended the hearing and all of them said they had not been given the opportunity to provide testimony to the DOJ under Bondi's leadership. She refused to acknowledge their presence when prompted.
- At one point, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said Bondi had lied under oath regarding Trump and Epstein's former relationship, which she forcefully rejected.
What they're saying: "Pam Bondi needs to be impeached," Nick Fuentes, a far-right Christian nationalist, said on his podcast on Feb. 9. After the hearing, he echoed his criticisms again in an episode entitled, "Pam Bondi FOLDS In Senate Hearing."
- Conservative broadcaster Erick Erickson said Bondi should "be fired or resign" after she responded to an Epstein-related question by touting the president's economic numbers. Erickson added that Republicans' handling of the situation will lead Democrats to have a "good election year."
- Podcaster Tim Pool said that he gives Bondi "more credit than people do," but that he couldn't say she's done a decent job.
- "I think they've miserably handled the Epstein files. I don't think we're serviced as the American people by this kind of yelling," he explained on his podcast.
- Kyle Rittenhouse, a gun rights activist who killed two people at a 2020 racial justice protest, also posted that Bondi should resign and be replaced by the DOJ's assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon.
When reached for comment, a White House spokesperson referred Axios to the president's Thursday post on Truth Social.
- "AG Pam Bondi, under intense fire from the Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday's Hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein," Trump wrote.
- "The one thing that has been proven conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charges."
Zoom in: Even influential podcasters like Joe Rogan have recently slammed the administration's investigation, a sign that the manosphere influencers who helped the president retake the White House in 2024 are frustrated with Trump.
- "None of this is good for this administration. It looks f*cking terrible. …It looks terrible for Trump, when he was saying that none of this was real, this is all a hoax. This is not a hoax…. how come all this sh*t is not released?"
By the numbers: Republicans are more likely to approve of the president's handling of Epstein files than Democrats, according to a YouGov survey released earlier this week.
- Republicans have a net 37-point approval rating, compared with Democrats' -90.
- That's up from the 53% approval rating Republicans reported in a Reuters/Ipsos poll from December.
Go deeper: Bondi accused of lying about Trump, Epstein at tense hearing
