Ex-prosecutor predicts 'heated' confirmation and 'uphill battle' for Pam Bondi replacement

Attorney General Pam Bondi was axed this week by President Donald Trump, and her eventual replacement, as predicted by a former U.S. attorney on Friday, is likely to face an “uphill battle” and a “heated” confirmation process.

“Whoever is appointed is going to have an uphill battle in confirmation because we're mighty close to the midterms, and you'll find that the senators who have to explain their vote get a little more careful on how they exercise that vote the closer they get to the ballot box,” said Michael Moore, a former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, during an appearance on CNN.

“So it wouldn't surprise me to see a pretty heated confirmation process, or at least somebody who's seen as more qualified and moderate nominated to see if they can get confirmed.”

According to reports, Trump fired Bondi over the Justice Department’s (DOJ) handling of its release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, as well as what he viewed as insufficient action against his political opponents. However, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has refuted the claim that Bondi’s firing was in any way related to the DOJ’s release of files on Epstein.

Bondi’s roughly 15-month tenure as attorney general is the shortest in more than 50 years, having held the role for around two months longer than former Attorney General William Saxbe, who left his position after 13 months under the Nixon administration. As to her legacy as head of the DOJ, Moore predicted it would be one of “failure.”

“[History will] see her as a failure and somebody who has probably done irreparable damage to the department as a whole, both reputationally and I think professionally,” Moore said.