Jeanine! Alina! Harmeet!<\/em> The gang\u2019s all here.<\/p>\n This job is objectively a shit sandwich. An increasingly demented and desperate president is staring down the likely loss of at least one House of Congress in the midterms and a wildly unpopular war that refuses to end no matter how much he shitposts at it. The one thing Trump wants from the DOJ is the scalps of his enemies \u2014 a prize that moves ever further out of reach as statutes of limitations run.<\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t that Pam Bondi lacked \u201csmarts and guts,\u201d as Trump reportedly<\/a> complained. The former county prosecutor and Florida state AG worked like hell to give her boss the perp walks he demanded. The problem is that the American legal system, battered as it is, retains a stubborn capacity to distinguish between actual crimes and the president\u2019s personal grievances.<\/p>\n Darn you<\/em>, grand juries! Darn you<\/em>, federal judges! Darn you<\/em>, probable cause!<\/p>\n This is a problem familiar to Jeanine Pirro, Trump\u2019s second choice to lead the US Attorneys Office in DC. After Ed Martin failed to win Senate confirmation, Trump tapped the former Fox News host for the job. Pirro was a former state prosecutor in New York, but her chops are a little rusty. She\u2019s gotten no-billed dozens of times by grand juries, suffered an embarrassing string of losses related to DHS\u2019s \u201csurge\u201d into DC, and her subpoena for the Federal Reserve got quashed<\/a> by Chief Judge James Boasberg, who found that the DOJ\u2019s \u201cjustifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual.\u201d<\/p>\n For the case against lawmakers who posted a video reminding service members of their obligation to disregard illegal orders, Pirro brought in a ringer \u2014 a retired state prosecutor currently working as a dance photographer<\/a>. But his presentation fell flat, and not a single grand juror voted to indict.<\/p>\n The Atlantic<\/a> reports that Pirro is undeterred, and is actively lobbying for the job at Mar-a-Lago. She\u2019s joined by Trump\u2019s sparklemagic lawyer, Alina Habba, who recently relocated to Florida to be closer to the action. The former dress-up US Attorney for New Jersey is theoretically a senior Justice Department official advising on US Attorneys Offices. She\u2019s never prosecuted a federal case in her life, but Caligula made his horse a consul so \u2026 sure, why not?<\/em><\/p>\n Other reported contenders include EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who practiced law for three whole years in Long Island before being elected to the New York State Senate. Trump has referred to Zeldin as his \u201csecret weapon,\u201d<\/a> thanks to Zeldin\u2019s uncanny ability to pump out expedited permits for hydrocarbon extraction, which is just like running the world\u2019s largest law firm.<\/p>\n CBS<\/a> reports that Harmeet Dhillon, another of Trump\u2019s personal lawyers, is in the mix, too. Dhillon presided over the evisceration of the DOJ\u2019s Civil Division, reorienting the office to hunt trans kids and protect white men from academic and workplace \u201cdiscrimination.\u201d But unlike Bondi, who understood that social media is just a tool for pumping out content to keep sweet with the White House, Dhillon isn\u2019t in on the joke. She actually boasted once to the Wall Street Journal<\/a> that she wakes up and scrolls X.com for \u201ca list of new horrors,\u201d after which \u201cI text my deputies, and we assign cases, and we get cranking.\u201d She could turn the DOJ into an anti-DEI machine without blinking. (Because she never blinks.)<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been stuck at the same level of followers on this account pretty much since I started my government job. What, am I chopped liver over here? <\/p>\n What kind of content do my folks want to see more of to like and share?<\/p>\n \u2014 Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) December 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Senators Mike Lee and Eric Schmitt are mentioned as possible candidates as well, but the real man to beat is Deputy AG Todd Blanche, yet another of Trump\u2019s former personal lawyers. In the post<\/a> announcing that Bondi would be relocated to a farm upstate where she could run around and chase squirrels with the other discarded former lawyers \u2014 say hi to Rudy! \u2014 Trump said \u201cour Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General.\u201d<\/p>\n Graded on the Trump curve, Blanche is comparatively qualified: He worked as a prosecutor at SDNY early in his career. He has actual experience in Justice Department leadership. He\u2019s not obviously delusional.<\/p>\n But if Blanche wasn\u2019t able to make those political prosecutions happen as the second-in-command at DOJ, why would he be able to do it from the big chair?<\/p>\n He\u2019s also got some stink on him from the Epstein files, another grenade Bondi tried and failed to diffuse for the president. Blanche interviewed Epstein\u2019s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in person, right around the time she found herself transferred from Florida to a cushy facility in Texas that categorically bars sex offenders. It was at this meeting that Maxwell remembered that Trump was always a perfect gentleman when she knew him \u2014 an amazing coincidence Blanche will certainly be asked about in a congressional hearing if he takes the top job. Will he be reduced to screeching about the stock market when asked about his boss\u2019s former buddy?<\/p>\n Bondi crashes out over Epstein: “The Dow is over 50,000 dollars! I don’t know why you’re laughing. You’re a great stock trader as I hear, Raskin. The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. That’s what we should be talking about.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)<\/a> 2026-02-11T16:06:13.158Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n There is one more potential wrench in the works. Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who doomed Ed Martin\u2019s nomination by making sure he never got out of the Judiciary Committee, says he\u2019s a \u201cno\u201d on anyone who downplays the January 6 attack on the Capitol.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the threshold for somebody following Pam Bondi ends the moment I hear they said one thing that excused the events of January the 6th. I\u2019ve been very clear on that,\u201d he told<\/a> CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins. \u201cSo I hope whoever they have in mind to follow General Bondi is very clear-eyed on my position on Jan. 6.\u201d<\/p>\n So \u2026 none of the above?<\/p>\n Whoever succeeds Bondi will preside over an institution that\u2019s been gutted during her 14-month tenure. More than 6,400 employees were either fired, resigned, or took early retirement. The Civil Rights Division lost roughly three-quarters of its attorneys. The share of top law school graduates applying to work at DOJ has plummeted, and US Attorneys are reduced to asking anyone with a MAGA hat and a bar card to slide into their DMs. Worst of all, judicial deference to the government is decimated, thanks to the terrible, mendacious arguments Bondi forced her employees to make during the past 14 months.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t believe it until you testify. That\u2019s what has happened to the credibility of your office,\u201d New Jersey Judge Zahid Quraishi excoriated<\/a> a hapless AUSA in March. \u201cGenerations of Assistant U.S. Attorneys had built the goodwill of that office for your generation to destroy it within a year.\u201d<\/p>\n None of that will change for whichever lickspittle slobbers his or her way to the top of Main Justice. Bondi\u2019s successor may be a better manager, or have a clearer understanding of how federal prosecutions work. But he or she won\u2019t be able to magic up crimes by Trump\u2019s enemies where none exist.<\/p>\n The only thing different is the name on the next portrait to wind up in the trash.<\/p>\n Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The post Battle Brewing To Replace Bondi<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n The battle to replace Pam Bondi is already underway.<\/p>\n The former Attorney General\u2019s picture is barely cold in the trashcan<\/a>, and already her would-be replacements are jockeying to be the next lawyer to land headfirst in the rubbish, with only a pile of congressional subpoenas to cushion the blow.<\/p>\n Jeanine! Alina! Harmeet!<\/em> The gang\u2019s all here.<\/p>\n This job is objectively a shit sandwich. An increasingly demented and desperate president is staring down the likely loss of at least one House of Congress in the midterms and a wildly unpopular war that refuses to end no matter how much he shitposts at it. The one thing Trump wants from the DOJ is the scalps of his enemies \u2014 a prize that moves ever further out of reach as statutes of limitations run.<\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t that Pam Bondi lacked \u201csmarts and guts,\u201d as Trump reportedly<\/a> complained. The former county prosecutor and Florida state AG worked like hell to give her boss the perp walks he demanded. The problem is that the American legal system, battered as it is, retains a stubborn capacity to distinguish between actual crimes and the president\u2019s personal grievances.<\/p>\n Darn you<\/em>, grand juries! Darn you<\/em>, federal judges! Darn you<\/em>, probable cause!<\/p>\n This is a problem familiar to Jeanine Pirro, Trump\u2019s second choice to lead the US Attorneys Office in DC. After Ed Martin failed to win Senate confirmation, Trump tapped the former Fox News host for the job. Pirro was a former state prosecutor in New York, but her chops are a little rusty. She\u2019s gotten no-billed dozens of times by grand juries, suffered an embarrassing string of losses related to DHS\u2019s \u201csurge\u201d into DC, and her subpoena for the Federal Reserve got quashed<\/a> by Chief Judge James Boasberg, who found that the DOJ\u2019s \u201cjustifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual.\u201d<\/p>\n For the case against lawmakers who posted a video reminding service members of their obligation to disregard illegal orders, Pirro brought in a ringer \u2014 a retired state prosecutor currently working as a dance photographer<\/a>. But his presentation fell flat, and not a single grand juror voted to indict.<\/p>\n The Atlantic<\/a> reports that Pirro is undeterred, and is actively lobbying for the job at Mar-a-Lago. She\u2019s joined by Trump\u2019s sparklemagic lawyer, Alina Habba, who recently relocated to Florida to be closer to the action. The former dress-up US Attorney for New Jersey is theoretically a senior Justice Department official advising on US Attorneys Offices. She\u2019s never prosecuted a federal case in her life, but Caligula made his horse a consul so \u2026 sure, why not?<\/em><\/p>\n Other reported contenders include EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who practiced law for three whole years in Long Island before being elected to the New York State Senate. Trump has referred to Zeldin as his \u201csecret weapon,\u201d<\/a> thanks to Zeldin\u2019s uncanny ability to pump out expedited permits for hydrocarbon extraction, which is just like running the world\u2019s largest law firm.<\/p>\n CBS<\/a> reports that Harmeet Dhillon, another of Trump\u2019s personal lawyers, is in the mix, too. Dhillon presided over the evisceration of the DOJ\u2019s Civil Division, reorienting the office to hunt trans kids and protect white men from academic and workplace \u201cdiscrimination.\u201d But unlike Bondi, who understood that social media is just a tool for pumping out content to keep sweet with the White House, Dhillon isn\u2019t in on the joke. She actually boasted once to the Wall Street Journal<\/a> that she wakes up and scrolls X.com for \u201ca list of new horrors,\u201d after which \u201cI text my deputies, and we assign cases, and we get cranking.\u201d She could turn the DOJ into an anti-DEI machine without blinking. (Because she never blinks.)<\/p>\n Senators Mike Lee and Eric Schmitt are mentioned as possible candidates as well, but the real man to beat is Deputy AG Todd Blanche, yet another of Trump\u2019s former personal lawyers. In the post<\/a> announcing that Bondi would be relocated to a farm upstate where she could run around and chase squirrels with the other discarded former lawyers \u2014 say hi to Rudy! \u2014 Trump said \u201cour Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General.\u201d<\/p>\n Graded on the Trump curve, Blanche is comparatively qualified: He worked as a prosecutor at SDNY early in his career. He has actual experience in Justice Department leadership. He\u2019s not obviously delusional.<\/p>\n But if Blanche wasn\u2019t able to make those political prosecutions happen as the second-in-command at DOJ, why would he be able to do it from the big chair?<\/p>\n He\u2019s also got some stink on him from the Epstein files, another grenade Bondi tried and failed to diffuse for the president. Blanche interviewed Epstein\u2019s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in person, right around the time she found herself transferred from Florida to a cushy facility in Texas that categorically bars sex offenders. It was at this meeting that Maxwell remembered that Trump was always a perfect gentleman when she knew him \u2014 an amazing coincidence Blanche will certainly be asked about in a congressional hearing if he takes the top job. Will he be reduced to screeching about the stock market when asked about his boss\u2019s former buddy?<\/p>\n There is one more potential wrench in the works. Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who doomed Ed Martin\u2019s nomination by making sure he never got out of the Judiciary Committee, says he\u2019s a \u201cno\u201d on anyone who downplays the January 6 attack on the Capitol.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the threshold for somebody following Pam Bondi ends the moment I hear they said one thing that excused the events of January the 6th. I\u2019ve been very clear on that,\u201d he told<\/a> CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins. \u201cSo I hope whoever they have in mind to follow General Bondi is very clear-eyed on my position on Jan. 6.\u201d<\/p>\n So \u2026 none of the above?<\/p>\n Whoever succeeds Bondi will preside over an institution that\u2019s been gutted during her 14-month tenure. More than 6,400 employees were either fired, resigned, or took early retirement. The Civil Rights Division lost roughly three-quarters of its attorneys. The share of top law school graduates applying to work at DOJ has plummeted, and US Attorneys are reduced to asking anyone with a MAGA hat and a bar card to slide into their DMs. Worst of all, judicial deference to the government is decimated, thanks to the terrible, mendacious arguments Bondi forced her employees to make during the past 14 months.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t believe it until you testify. That\u2019s what has happened to the credibility of your office,\u201d New Jersey Judge Zahid Quraishi excoriated<\/a> a hapless AUSA in March. \u201cGenerations of Assistant U.S. Attorneys had built the goodwill of that office for your generation to destroy it within a year.\u201d<\/p>\n None of that will change for whichever lickspittle slobbers his or her way to the top of Main Justice. Bondi\u2019s successor may be a better manager, or have a clearer understanding of how federal prosecutions work. But he or she won\u2019t be able to magic up crimes by Trump\u2019s enemies where none exist.<\/p>\n The only thing different is the name on the next portrait to wind up in the trash.<\/p>\n Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The battle to replace Pam Bondi is already underway. The former Attorney General\u2019s picture is barely cold in the trashcan, and already her would-be replacements are jockeying to be the next lawyer to land headfirst in the rubbish, with only a pile of congressional subpoenas to cushion the blow. Jeanine! Alina! Harmeet! The gang\u2019s all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":148101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/law-and-chaos-logo-liz-dye-300x153-NRWvNZ.jpg?fit=300%2C153&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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