Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) offered a brief but pointed rebuttal Friday to rumors he may be jockeying to become President Donald Trump’s next attorney general following the ouster of Pam Bondi as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
“I’m not going anywhere,” the third-term senator tweeted.
It’s no secret in Washington that Lee, known for strong conservative policy positions, has often irked fellow Senate Republicans with procedural tactics. It’s in that spirit that Lee moving over to the administration would be one less headache for leadership.
But Lee, an attorney who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and served as an assistant U.S. attorney, has been floated for the job before. As a staunch ally of Trump, Lee has instead remained in Congress in what is a safe seat.
The Lee speculation was almost instant following the firing of Bondi on Thursday, after growing frustrations from Trump over her handling of the Epstein files and other prosecutions targeting the president’s political foes. In a social media post, Trump called Bondi a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year.”
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, said she’ll transition the attorney general role “over the next month” to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche “before moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about, and where I will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration.”
WHO COULD TRUMP REMOVE NEXT AFTER BONDI? CABINET SHAKE-UPS FUEL SPECULATION
The firing was the second Cabinet official to be ousted and the latest in a series of recent shake-ups by Trump across his administration, including the removal of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary and the ousting of Greg Bovino as a lead figure in the administration’s immigration crackdown. Other Cabinet firings could also be on the horizon.
Possible permanent Bondi successors, who will require Senate confirmation, include Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, U.S. attorney in Washington and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, and Justice Department civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon.