JONATHAN TURLEY: Why Trump fired Bondi and chose this moment for a Justice Department reset
There is an old joke that scientists switched from lab rats to lawyers because you do not get as attached to lawyers. President Donald Trump has shown the same tendency to avoid becoming attached to either private or government counsel. Attorney General Pam Bondi is only the latest in a long line of lawyers let go by a president who was made famous with the tagline "You're fired."
There is no evidence of bad blood between President Trump and Bondi. The attorney general has been attacked over her loyalty to the president and has been by his side in some of the most precarious moments, from impeachment to criminal defense. As his "apprentices" learned, this is not personal. It's business.
Jeff Sessions. Rex Tillerson. Bill Barr. Mark Esper. Kristi Noem. Trump's Cabinet picks are known more for shelving than storage.
Indeed, being a cabinet member in a Trump administration is about as secure as being a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
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Trump has always viewed terminations as a way to spur higher performance levels.
There is a reason why Trump may have wanted to move now in swapping out attorneys general. There are growing predictions that the Democrats will lose the House and could now lose the Senate.
Democrats are running on pledges to unleash a new spasm of investigations and impeachments, targeting not just President Trump but anyone who supports him.
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Figures like Susan Rice, top policy adviser to both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have promised "revenge" against all those who pushed Democrats out of power and warned that "it’s not going to end well for them."
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pledged that, as soon as they regain power, they will start throwing Trump people in jail when they retake Congress.
Democratic strategist James Carville previously threatened that "collaborators" may be treated in the same way as they were after World War II.
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Trump's ability to secure confirmation of a successor will become far more challenging as he approaches the midterm elections.
Trump has to decide who will be the best hand on the wheel in those choppy waters ahead.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has the street cred that Trump values. An accomplished litigator and former prosecutor, Blanche is neither flashy nor gregarious. He is a lethal litigator who can gut you like a trout without breaking a sweat. He has been at the president's side in and out of court. While he will be a lightning rod for Democrats who have attacked him for his role in the release of the Epstein files, his firmness in dealing with a hostile media likely appealed to the president.
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Blanche offers a seamless transition for the department. He literally only has to walk down the hallway to take the reins from Bondi.
Another name reportedly under consideration is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who would likely be the easiest to confirm and the most popular with members of Congress. Zeldin transformed the EPA in short order, including clearing away barriers to increasing energy production. Almost elected governor of New York, Zeldin has cross-over appeal in Washington as someone who cut his teeth in this town.
Other candidates include state attorneys general, as well as wild cards like U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a former judge with a tough-as-nails reputation in Washington, D.C. It is a deep bench.
There will be no shortage of applicants for the job. The office of the attorney general in the Trump administration has everything that one could want in Washington. Everything, that is, except job security.