Bondi Clashes with Senate Dems in Heated Hearing

Attorney General Pam Bondi delivered a combative performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, repeatedly sparring with Democratic lawmakers over the Justice Department’s direction under President Donald Trump and the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities amid the federal government shutdown.

In a tense exchange with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the panel’s top Democrat, Bondi refused to say whether she consulted with the White House about troop movements. Durbin pressed her to explain reports that Texas National Guard troops were being transferred to Illinois.

“Madam Attorney General, let me ask you this question. Were you consulted by the White House before they deployed National Guard troops to cities in the United States?” Durbin asked.

Bondi replied, “I am not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House.”

Durbin pressed again, “You won’t even say whether you talked to the White House about this?”

Bondi repeated, “I am not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House with you, ranking member.”

Durbin questioned why she would withhold information from the committee, asking, “What’s the secret? Why do you want to keep this secret?”

Bondi fired back sharply, saying, “Yeah, chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you’re sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid. They’re out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”

Bondi struck a similar tone in her exchange with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who questioned her on staffing within the DOJ.

“Senator Klobuchar, I’m not going to discuss personnel decisions,” Bondi said. “But the personnel issue that I’m having right now is that all of my agents, all of my lawyers, are working. My agents are on the street working without a paycheck because your party voted to shut down the federal government.”

Throughout the hearing, Bondi defended the Trump administration’s record on crime and immigration, touting surges in federal law enforcement operations in Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Chicago.

“We are returning to our core mission of fighting real crime,” Bondi said in her opening statement. “They were playing politics with law enforcement powers and will go down as a historic betrayal of public trust. We will work to earn that back every single day.”

She also criticized federal judges who have ruled against the administration, calling their decisions “an unprecedented degree of activism” and insisting that her department “has never ignored a court order.”

The appearance marked Bondi’s first testimony before the Judiciary Committee since her confirmation.

Former DOJ officials have accused Bondi of eroding institutional norms and damaging morale within the department, saying her wave of firings is “draining the department of priceless institutional knowledge.”

Still, Bondi remained defiant, insisting her leadership is restoring accountability.

“There have been many terminations,” she said. “We stand by all of those.”