Lee Zeldin is Trump’s top choice to replace Pam Bondi
After Kristy Noem, it might be time for Pam Bundy to step away from her prestigious roles in the film industry. Donald Trump Trump is seriously considering replacing Bundy because he is dissatisfied with the way her department handled the Jeffrey Epstein dossier case. Trump has called for the replacement of Bundy, who faces testimony on Capitol Hill later this month related to the congressional investigation into the late sex trafficker, CNN reported. Trump believes Bondi did not do enough to investigate his political opponents. White House officials have discussed several possibilities for attorney general, but Senate-confirmed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is the likely successor, CNN confirmed. Trump met with Zeldin on Tuesday. But the president put those speculations to rest in a statement heaping praise on Bundy. “Attorney General Pam Bondi is a great person and she is doing a great job,” Trump said in a statement to CNN.Some reports say Trump has told Bondi that her days as attorney general are numbered, but no one has officially said anything. Sources said the idea of replacing Bundy with Zeldin first emerged in January and then died down as the Epstein reports disappeared from the news cycle. Some senior Justice Department officials believe the year-long headache over the Epstein dossier is finally over, sources said. But news that Trump wanted to replace Bondi with Zeldin began circulating again in the West Wing on Monday.
Who is Li Zeldin?
Zeldin is an attorney and military veteran who represented New York’s 1st Congressional District before joining the EPA. After losing the 2022 New York gubernatorial race to Kathy Hochul, Zeldin remained close to Trump, appearing regularly at Mar-a-Lago during the 2024 campaign.Zeldin served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves for 22 years. He was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 (as a military intelligence officer), and also served as a federal prosecutor and military judge. In May 2025, he retired as a lieutenant colonel.He lives on Long Island with his wife, Diana, and identical twin daughters, Michaela and Arianna.
