Bondi Steps Down, Blanche Takes Over at DOJ

0:00It's April 2nd. This is Vancouver News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Attorney General Pam Bondi is stepping down from her role at the top of the Justice Department after a rocky run pushing President Trump's priorities. Trump announced it on Truth Social, praising her while saying she's headed to a private sector gig soon. In her place, Deputy AG Todd Blanche steps up as Acting Attorney General. He's a sharp legal mind who defended Trump in big cases like the election, stuff, classified docs, and hush money payments. Blanche can hold the job for up to 210 days while the Senate eyes a permanent pick. Bondi's time saw the department's shift hard toward cracking down on immigration, violent crime, and Trump's political foes while dialing back on. Corruption probes and corporate cases. But Trump got frustrated over slow prosecutions against his enemies and her handling of Jeffrey Epstein vials. Critics hammered Bondi for turning the DOJ into a White House tool, with thousands

1:02of prosecutors bailing amid the changes. Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren called it a cesspool of corruption, blasting her for blocking Epstein docs in political favors. She faced heat and hearings and over heavy redactions in the millions of pages released on Epstein and Golan Maxwell. ongoing probe she kicked off. Like once targeting XFBI director James Comey and New York AG Latisha James, hit snags indictments got tossed by A. Judge. Efforts to chase claims of a coup against Trump haven't led to charges yet. Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee still wants her to testify on Epstein next month. Trump's eyeing EPA head Lee Zeldin, as her full replacement, he's already slashed that agency staff by over 20%. The shake-up amps up the chaos of justice, signaling more big shifts ahead and have a log it's enforced.