President Donald Trump’s decision to remove Attorney General Pam Bondi has triggered a scramble over who could permanently take over the Justice Department, with a small group of allies and administration officials emerging as the most plausible contenders.
Trump confirmed Thursday that Bondi would be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, elevating his former personal defense attorney to serve as acting attorney general while the White House weighs a permanent pick. The Senate is not set to return until April 13, giving Trump a window to deliberate before any nomination fight begins.
Blanche immediately enters the fray as more than just a temporary placeholder.
A source within the Justice Department told the Washington Examiner there is a “non-zero chance” Blanche could ultimately be selected for the permanent role, particularly if Trump prioritizes continuity and aggression over bringing in a new face who would need to survive Senate confirmation.
That consideration looms large given the compounding slate of issues, which led to Bondi’s ouster in the first place. Blanche and other officials have vehemently denied that this was related to her handling of the release of files related to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump considers a Cabinet shuffle
As previously reported by the Washington Examiner, Trump’s break with Bondi was driven less by any single controversy and more by a broader frustration that she was not moving quickly or forcefully enough on investigations involving people who had previously targeted Trump. Allies had grown impatient with the lack of indictments in several high-profile matters, and Trump himself became more frustrated with what he viewed as a failure to execute on his agenda.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has emerged as a leading external contender, in part because he checks several of Trump’s boxes at once. A longtime ally who defended Trump during his first impeachment and now runs a Cabinet agency, Zeldin brings both political loyalty and executive management experience.
He also offers a practical advantage. As a Senate-confirmed official, Zeldin could be moved into the role on an acting basis under federal vacancy law, allowing Trump to install him quickly without immediately triggering a confirmation battle. Zeldin has been floated internally as a possible replacement as far back as January, and the Wall Street Journal reported that he and Trump held a meeting in the White House earlier this week.
Just as importantly, Zeldin is viewed by some in Trump’s orbit as someone capable of serving as a more public-facing defender of the administration’s legal agenda, a role the president increasingly expects from his attorney general.
“He’s a charismatic guy, and he’s built up trust with the president,” an attorney outside the administration who works closely with the DOJ told the Washington Examiner. “That rapport matters when you’re trying to get things done.”
Other contenders face uphill battle
By contrast, many of the other names circulating could face steeper obstacles.
Among those floated are U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, and former DOJ official Jeff Clark. While each has allies pushing their case, most would need to go through a full Senate confirmation process at a time when the administration can afford few defections.
For a brief stretch, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) appeared to gain traction as a contender, with some Republican senators reportedly quietly encouraging Trump to consider him. But Lee has since ruled himself out after those reports surfaced, removing one of the more serious Senate-backed options from contention.
A figure like DeSantis may seem like a good pick for Trump on paper. But with his term as governor lasting until January and Blanche’s temporary slot as acting attorney general being time-barred at 210 days, his timeline doesn’t quite align with Trump’s needs. And while a potential candidate like Paxton might ordinarily pique Trump’s interest, his current bid for U.S. Senate makes him an unlikely pick as well.
Beyond Blanche, another internal contender with a strong showing of support from Trump’s MAGA base is Dhillon, who has be lauded for her efforts to clean house within the Civil Rights Division and bring a strong focus back to civil rights initiatives such as combatting antisemitism, fighting against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives for institutions that receive federal grant money, and defending Christian churches from far-left agitators, as Dhillon did by bringing indictments against protesters who stormed the Cities Church in Minnesota earlier this year.
Dhillon has earned the backing of several influential outsiders on social media, including Christopher Rufo and Mike Cernovich, both of whom are figures known and trusted among Trump supporters and allies.
Harmeet Dhillon always seemed to me to be the obvious AG. If this isn’t locked down, she’s definitely someone most supported by the base. She was the lawyer taking on cases for Andy Ngo, and when San Jose allowed trump supporters to be violently attacked, she sued.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) April 2, 2026
Dark horses could still emerge
Other dark-horse contenders who were floated by close Trump ally Mike Davis on Friday included FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Mark Paoletta, who is a close friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and currently general counsel to the Office of Management and Budget under its director, Russell Vought.
Notably, the confirmation issue in the Senate is no minor hurdle. Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second term, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), failed because he lacked the votes in the Senate. Bondi was confirmed with a 54-46 margin, underscoring the limited room for error. Any new nominee would likely face intense scrutiny over Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, prosecutorial decision-making, and whether the DOJ would maintain traditional independence from the White House.
That reality, combined with the short shelf life the job has had under Trump, could narrow the field further.
During Trump’s first term, the position saw repeated turnover. Jeff Sessions was forced out after prolonged tension with the president, and he was followed by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Shortly after, Bill Barr took over but departed after breaking with Trump following his 2020 election defeat, leading to Jeffrey Rosen briefly serving in an acting capacity at the end of the administration.
Bondi’s tenure lasted just over a year. Trump’s high expectations for the job are unlikely to change.
Trump has made clear, both publicly and privately, that he wants an attorney general who delivers visible results, including progress on investigations involving figures he believes have targeted him politically.
That demand has proven difficult to meet within the traditional constraints of the Justice Department, and notwithstanding the fact that any potential prosecution brought against a Democrat is only as good as the facts that make up the case. So far, efforts to indict figures such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey have failed for procedural reasons.
For now, Blanche is positioned to demonstrate whether he can thread that needle.
His new role as acting attorney general gives him a live audition to show he can translate the administration’s priorities into tangible outcomes, something Bondi’s critics argued she failed to do consistently enough. But notably, Blanche has shown he believes his former boss served the department well, raising questions about whether his leadership of the department will be different enough from how it was run before.
“We are a better Justice Department. We are safer as a nation,” Blanche told Fox News’s Jesse Waters Thursday. “And we should all be very grateful to the attorney general for her sacrifice for this country.”
Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl about the DOJ’s future. Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal attorney in the New York civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, fueled rumors Friday after posting a photo of herself meeting with Trump in the Oval Office with the caption, “Always an honor.”
Always an honor
pic.twitter.com/kiyHiAdBWv
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) April 3, 2026
KRISTI NOEM FIRING RESPONSE PUSHED TRUMP TO OUST PAM BONDI: BYRON YORK
The post prompted immediate speculation online about her potential consideration, although there has been no indication that she is among the leading candidates.
With the Senate out until mid-April, Trump has time to weigh his options. But the early contours of the race are clear: Blanche as the internal contender with a real shot at keeping the job, Zeldin as the leading external option who could step in quickly, and a broader field of candidates who could be right for the job but may also face complications with the confirmation process if Trump were to pick them.