{"id":2562194,"date":"2026-02-02T11:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T16:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bondi-installs-ex-white-house-legal-aide-as-doj-chief-of-staff\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T11:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T16:07:03","slug":"bondi-installs-ex-white-house-legal-aide-as-doj-chief-of-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bondi-installs-ex-white-house-legal-aide-as-doj-chief-of-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi installs ex-White House legal aide as DOJ chief of staff"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbondi-installs-ex-white-house-legal-aide-as-doj-chief-of-staff%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2562194&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Attorney General Pam Bondi has quietly installed former White House legal aide Stuart McCommas as her chief of staff, filling a powerful vacancy that went unannounced after Chad Mizelle\u2019s departure in September 2025. McCommas was tapped in January and comes from the Office of white House Counsel, where he served as deputy counsel and special assistant to the president, overseeing the administration\u2019s litigation portfolio and helping manage more than 200 cases, including work tied to over 20 Supreme Court victories. Bondi praised his legal experience and leadership, and White house counsel David Warrington called him an \u201cexceptional lawyer.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>McCommas keeps a much lower public profile than his predecessor\u2014no public social accounts and little media presence\u2014at a time when Bondi\u2019s leadership has faced scrutiny amid pressure from President Trump for more aggressive DOJ action on several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-legal-team-for-impeachment-defense-after-previous-team-collapsed\/\" title=\"... Announces New Legal Team For Impeachment Defense After Previous Team Collapsed\">high-profile matters<\/a> (including handling of Epstein-related files and election-related probes). The appointment also places his brother, Brendan McCommas, in a senior legal role at the State department.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Bondi quietly installs ex-White House legal aide Stuart McCommas as DOJ chief of staff<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2480005\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong> The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> has selected former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> legal aide Stuart McCommas to work as Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\">Pam Bondi&rsquo;s<\/a> chief of staff, filling a powerful role that had gone publicly unaddressed for months following the departure of her previous top aide.<\/p>\n<p>McCommas was tapped for the Justice Department job in January, sources told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, though the department did not specify when he began working in the role. The transition was not announced at the time and followed months of uncertainty after Bondi&rsquo;s last chief of staff, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/09\/23\/chad-mizelle-to-leave-as-doj-chief-of-staff\">Chad Mizelle<\/a>, exited the department.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4441644\/doj-ramps-focus-violent-agitators-minnesota\/\">DOJ ramps up focus on violent agitators in Minnesota as resignations strain fraud cases<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4441397\/how-fulton-countys-election-wars-escalated-into-an-fbi-raid\/\">How Fulton County&rsquo;s election wars escalated into an FBI raid<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4442274\/todd-blanche-gabbard-fbi-georgia-election-raid\/\">Deputy attorney general says &#8216;I don&#8217;t know&#8217; why Gabbard was present at Georgia FBI raid<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney General Pam Bondi, center, listens while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bondi praised McCommas&rsquo;s elevation in a statement emphasizing that his legal experience makes him an &ldquo;invaluable resource&rdquo; for the job.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am thrilled to have Stuart McCommas&rsquo;s legal expertise and strong leadership in the Chief of Staff role,&rdquo; Bondi said. &ldquo;Stuart has been and will continue to be an invaluable resource as this Department continues our historic work to execute President Trump&rsquo;s agenda and Make America Safe Again.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The appointment follows the departure of Mizelle, who announced his exit on Sept. 23, 2025, after working less than a year in the role. Mizelle, who also worked as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-and-biden-admin-veteran-set-to-join-trump-investigation-in-new-york\/\" title=\"Obama And Biden Admin Veteran Set To Join ... Investigation In New York\">acting associate attorney general<\/a> at the same time, was one of the DOJ&rsquo;s most visible senior officials, frequently signing major court filings and publicly defending the administration&rsquo;s legal positions.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike his predecessor, McCommas keeps a much lower profile, with no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-james-mattis-say-people-who-burn-the-american-flag-will-spend-two-years-in-the-military\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did James Mattis Say People Who Burn The American Flag Will \u2018Spend Two Years In The Military\u2019?\">public social media accounts<\/a> and no time spent on TV airwaves.<\/p>\n<p>Mizelle still speaks with news pundits and often takes to X to defend the department&rsquo;s work, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3484700\/doj-complaint-judge-boasberg-undermining-integrity-judiciary\/\">criticize district judges<\/a> when he believes they overstep their authorities, and, more recently, has used his personal account to call for a broader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/chad_mizelle\/status\/2017585275896058233\">push to hire additional assistant U.S. attorneys<\/a> amid recent personnel departures in local U.S. attorney offices.<\/p>\n<p>His government X account was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChadMizelle47\/status\/1981488865815740788\">archived on Oct. 23, 2025<\/a>, one month after his departure was announced. Bondi had gone without a chief of staff for more than three months.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of Mizelle&rsquo;s exit, CNN <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/20250923181218\/https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/23\/politics\/chad-mizelle-pam-bondi-doj#selection-2545.13-2553.99\">reported<\/a> that some White House staffers had privately expressed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/23\/politics\/chad-mizelle-pam-bondi-doj#selection-2545.13-2553.99\">frustration with his handling of the political fallout<\/a> from the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy. Those concerns, according to sources familiar with the discussions, centered on the belief that Mizelle should have done more to insulate Bondi <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3919279\/susie-wiles-pam-bondi-binders-full-nothingness-epstein-files-stunt\/\">when binders labeled as Epstein files<\/a> were distributed to influencers last year, but were later revealed to contain no new information.<\/p>\n<p>Bondi&rsquo;s leadership has remained under scrutiny as President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> has reportedly pushed the DOJ to move more aggressively on a series of high-profile matters, including on stalled prosecutions of officials involved in past politicized investigations of Trump, the continued release and handling of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\">Epstein-related files<\/a>, and the pace of election-related criminal inquiries. The <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported on Jan. 12 that Trump had privately <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/trump-has-complained-about-pam-bondi-repeatedly-to-aides-fd424df3\">discussed appointing special counsels out of frustration<\/a> with what he viewed as slow progress at the DOJ, even as he and senior administration officials publicly reiterated their support for Bondi.<\/p>\n<p>McCommas comes to the role from the Office of White House Counsel, where, under the leadership of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3249848\/trump-names-david-warrington-white-house-counsel\/\">David Warrington<\/a>, he worked as deputy White House counsel and special assistant to the president. In that capacity, he helped oversee high-stakes litigation and coordinated the administration&rsquo;s legal strategy across federal agencies, including working as the White House point person for the DOJ&rsquo;s litigation portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>McCommas played a central role in guiding more than 200 cases so far in Trump&rsquo;s second term, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >including litigation involving nationwide injunctions<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3970800\/trump-historic-year-supreme-court-victories\/\">helping the administration<\/a> secure more than 20 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> victories. He began working in the White House on Inauguration Day 2025 and has been part of Trump&rsquo;s legal operation since volunteering for the 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4441887\/republicans-alex-pretti-shooting-trump-offense\/\">TRUMP SPLITS REPUBLICANS WITH ABOUT-FACE ON ALEX PRETTI SHOOTING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Warrington praised McCommas&rsquo;s move to the DOJ, calling him an &ldquo;exceptional lawyer&rdquo; who has been a staunch supporter of Trump since 2015. Warrington noted McCommas&rsquo;s experience across two White House counsel offices and said he was proud to see him continue his public service as the DOJ&rsquo;s new chief of staff.<\/p>\n<p>McCommas&rsquo;s elevation also places two members of the same family in senior legal roles across the administration. His brother, Brendan McCommas, works as a deputy legal adviser at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-department\/\">State Department<\/a> and previously worked as a special assistant to the president and counselor for trade and manufacturing, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brendan-mccommas\/\">according to his LinkedIn account<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bondi taps ex-White House aide Stuart McCommas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2562195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26029818771113.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[51609,56842,45476,46628,72594],"class_list":["post-2562194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-chief-of-staff-2","tag-department-of-justice","tag-pam-bondi","tag-political-appointment","tag-white-house-legal-aide"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26029818771113.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2562194"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2562198,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562194\/revisions\/2562198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2562195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2562194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2562194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2562194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}