{"id":2587451,"date":"2026-04-06T06:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-not-easy-being-trumps-attorney-general\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T06:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:41:45","slug":"its-not-easy-being-trumps-attorney-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-not-easy-being-trumps-attorney-general\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s not easy being Trump&#8217;s attorney general"},"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\">14<\/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%2Fits-not-easy-being-trumps-attorney-general%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=2587451&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>The piece traces how President Trump\u2019s relationship with the Justice Department\u2019s top leaders created a turbulent landscape for federal law enforcement, highlighting the loyalty-loyalty-and-rule-of-law tensions that defined his term.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Jeff Sessions: Trump endorsed him in 2016, but Sessions\u2019 decision to recuse from the Russia probe sparked the Mueller investigation and lasting friction. Trump publicly criticized Sessions, and Sessions eventually resigned in 2018 at Trump\u2019s request. He later attempted a comeback in Alabama politics, but narrowly lost the 2020 Senate runoff, in a setback framed by Trump\u2019s ongoing criticisms and political maneuvering around the DOJ.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Bill Barr: Trump\u2019s second attorney general was seen as a hard-edged, law-and-order choice. Their relationship deteriorated over the 2020 election aftermath when Barr publicly stated there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump pressed Barr privately and publicly, challenging his findings and questioning his loyalty, including disputes over the Durham investigation and Barr\u2019s broader posture toward the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Pam Bondi: Bondi\u2019s tenure ended abruptly as Trump sought aggressive legal leadership, illustrating how even trusted allies could be dismissed when he believed the DOJ wasn\u2019t delivering what he wanted. The piece notes Trump\u2019s flirtation with other candidates, including Matt Gaetz, before settling into a pattern of interim leadership rather than stable, long-term appointments.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Broader pattern: The article argues that Trump\u2019s insistence on unwavering loyalty frequently enough clashed with the DOJ\u2019s duty to enforce the law, leaving leaders like Sessions, Bondi, and Barr navigating repeated public pressure, internal disputes, and volatile political expectations. It concludes that this dynamic made sustained leadership at the DOJ challenging, with temporary or interim arrangements becoming more common during his presidency.  <\/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\">It&rsquo;s not easy being Trump&rsquo;s attorney general<\/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_2551433\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4514219\/gradual-erosion-confidence-led-to-pam-bondis-abrupt-ouster\/\">firing<\/a> of former Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\">Pam Bondi<\/a> underscored the challenges of the job under President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If acting Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\">Todd Blanche<\/a>, or his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4515217\/heres-who-trump-could-choose-next-attorney-general-after-firing-pam-bondi\/\">eventual replacement<\/a>, leaves the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> on good terms with Trump, they may well be the first to do so.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeff-sessions\/\">Jeff Sessions<\/a> was the first senator to endorse Trump for president in 2016, at a time when most Republican elected officials were skeptical of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >brash real estate developer<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/reality-tv\/\">reality TV star&rsquo;s<\/a> entry into politics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Alabama Republican had charted an alternate path for Republicans on immigration after many party operatives and establishment figures believed their 2012 presidential election loss meant they needed to embrace amnesty for most illegal immigrants in the country. Sessions arguably believed in Trumpism before Trump did &mdash; he even <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/politico50\/2016\/jeff-sessions-stephen-miller\/\">introduced<\/a> Trump to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-miller\/\">Stephen Miller.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When Trump unexpectedly won in 2016 and tapped Sessions to be his first attorney general, it seemed like a reward for loyalty and political entrepreneurship.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Jeff has been a highly respected member of the U.S. Senate for 20 years,&rdquo; Trump said in a statement at the time. &ldquo;He is a world-class legal mind and considered a truly great Attorney General and US Attorney in the state of Alabama. Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Sessions&rsquo;s role in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> degenerated into an embarrassing spectacle that upended his long political career. Sessions quickly became ensnared in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"80\">Trump-Russia affair <\/a>based on a small number of undisclosed contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. He then recused himself from the subsequent Trump-Russia investigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This set in motion a chain of events that culminated in the appointment of Trump-Russia special counsel <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/robert-mueller\/\">Robert Mueller<\/a>. While Mueller was never able to prove any collusion between Trump or his campaign and the Russians, and his final report did not spark an impeachment inquiry, his investigation cast a pall over much of Trump&rsquo;s first term. Trump himself has certainly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4499650\/robert-mueller-died-trump-says-glad\/\">not gotten over it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The necessity of the recusal was debatable. The columnist and former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, hardly a MAGA legal commentator, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2017\/06\/jeff-sessions-recusal-unnecessary\/\">argued against it<\/a>. But Trump was incensed by it, and his relationship with Sessions never recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Trump berated Sessions in person in the Oval Office. He <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2017\/07\/trump-doubles-down-on-public-humiliation-of-jeff-sessions?srsltid=AfmBOooC3rlRG5D2-DNYuBMPPJrK9YffSuh1_SaA5oGMKXXCBE60XsJI\">denounced<\/a> him online before the whole world. He told reporters he shouldn&rsquo;t have nominated Sessions in the first place. A Sept. 14, 2017, <em>New York Times <\/em>headline <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/14\/us\/politics\/jeff-sessions-trump.html\">read<\/a>: &ldquo;Trump humiliated Jeff Sessions after Mueller appointment.&rdquo; Trump told the outlet in July, &ldquo;Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Trump didn&rsquo;t fire Sessions until Nov. 7, 2018. Sessions technically resigned, but his resignation letter makes clear that he did so on Trump&rsquo;s orders. &#8203;&#8203;&rdquo;Dear Mr. President, at your request, I am submitting my resignation,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The episode wasn&rsquo;t over, however. Sessions tried to return to the Senate seat he had last won in the general election with 97.3% of the vote, though he had no Democratic challenger. He sought to return to Trump&rsquo;s good graces with a series of supportive, almost fawning, campaign ads. &ldquo;When I left President Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet, did I write a tell-all book? No. Did I go on CNN and attack the president? Nope. Have I said a cross word about our president? Not one time,&rdquo; he said in one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump would have none of it. His 2020 campaign called Sessions &ldquo;delusional.&rdquo; Trump himself forcefully backed former Auburn University football coach <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tommy-tuberville\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"986\">Tommy Tuberville<\/a> in the primary. &ldquo;We only assume your campaign is doing this to confuse President Trump&rsquo;s loyal supporters in Alabama into believing the President supports your candidacy in the upcoming primary run-off election,&rdquo; a Trump campaign official wrote in a letter to Sessions about his pro-Trump ads. &ldquo;Nothing could be further from the truth.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sessions lost to Tuberville in the runoff, taking just 39.3% of the vote. <em>Politico <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/07\/15\/who-won-primaries-texas-maine-alabama-363200\">ran<\/a> the headline, &ldquo;Trump humiliates Sessions.&rdquo; Tuberville went on to win the Senate seat, which he currently holds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s second Senate-confirmed attorney general had previously held the job under President George H.W. Bush. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-barr\/\">Bill Barr<\/a> was a tough law-and-order Republican. But the two would come to clash over the 2020 election, when the Barr-led Justice Department could not find enough voter fraud to cast doubt on Trump&rsquo;s loss. Or, as Barr later <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2021\/06\/william-barrs-trump-administration-attorney-general\/619298\/\">put it<\/a> to the <em>Atlantic<\/em>, &ldquo;It was all bulls***.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Barr, at the urging of then-Senate Republican Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitch-mcconnell\/\">Mitch McConnell<\/a>, had gone public with his findings. The <em>Associated Press <\/em>reported, &ldquo;Disputing Donald Trump&rsquo;s persistent baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Did you say that?&rdquo; Trump later asked Barr, according to the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mi-lawmakers-just-made-it-easier-to-commit-election-fraud\/\" title=\"MI Lawmakers Simplify Process for ... Fraud\">attorney general&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s account. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; Barr replied. &ldquo;How the f*** could you do this to me?&rdquo; Trump demanded. &ldquo;Why did you say it?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When Barr responded that his comments were true, he claimed Trump shot back, &ldquo;You must hate Trump. You must hate Trump.&rdquo; Trump has disputed this version of events, saying that he instead concluded Barr&rsquo;s inability to find the fraud proved the attorney general was too weak to stand up to the Left.<\/p>\n<p>Something Sessions, Barr, and Bondi have all had in common was that they did not sufficiently satisfy Trump on his various legal grievances. It&rsquo;s likely one of the reasons Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman, was Trump&rsquo;s first choice over Bondi. Gaetz&rsquo;s nomination was pulled after it became clear he was unconfirmable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t delay any longer,&rdquo; Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115239044548033727\">posted on Truth Social<\/a> in a message aimed at Bondi last September. &ldquo;JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!&rdquo; He told &ldquo;Pam&rdquo; that the lack of criminal charges against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James&rdquo; was &ldquo;killing our reputation and credibility.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In July 2017, Trump fumed on social media that Sessions &ldquo;has taken a very weak position on Hillary Clinton Crimes.&rdquo; He continued in the early morning hours, &ldquo;Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign &ndash; &lsquo;quietly working to boost Clinton.&rsquo; So where is the investigation, A.G.,&rdquo; tagging Fox News host Sean Hannity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By the end of the meeting, Trump was doing almost all of the talking,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jonathan-karl\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"6320\">Jonathan Karl<\/a> wrote in the <em>Atlantic <\/em>about the 2020 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House <\/a>showdown between Trump and Barr. &ldquo;Why hadn&rsquo;t Barr released John Durham&rsquo;s report on the origins of the Russia investigation before the election? Why hadn&rsquo;t he prosecuted former FBI Director James Comey? Trump was banging on the table. He said that Barr had been worthless.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s critics have argued that he lacks sufficient respect for the rule of law, leading to attorneys general who wanted to be loyal to him failing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4513647\/trump-fires-attorney-general-pam-bondi\/\"><strong>TRUMP FIRES ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The president&rsquo;s allies point to the lawfare campaign against him, ranging from the investigations of his 2016 campaign during the Obama administration to the multiple Trump prosecutions by Democratic appointees and elected officials to the weaponization of the Epstein files against him, as reasons he would be sensitive to these issues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Either way, it has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whitmer-says-small-businesses-have-her-support-these-small-business-owners-havent-forgotten-her-shutdowns\/\" title=\"Whitmer Says Small Businesses Have Her Support. These Small Business Owners Haven\u2019t Forgotten Her Shutdowns.\">made life difficult<\/a> for officials chosen to lead the Justice Department on more than an interim basis while Trump is in office. Blanche can at least take comfort in the fact that Mark Whitaker&rsquo;s tenure as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorney-lin-wood-defends-ag-bill-barr-after-announces-he-is-stepping-down-trump-voters-respond\/\" title=\"... Lin Wood Defends AG Bill Barr After Announces He Is Stepping Down \u2014 Trump Voters Respond\">acting attorney general<\/a> between Sessions and Barr was comparatively uneventful.&nbsp;<\/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>Trump&#8217;s AG job is hard; Bondi&#8217;s firing shows it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2587452,"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\/2025\/12\/AP25363434762613-e1767202058777.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[73684,7076,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2587451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-attorney-general-2","tag-doj","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25363434762613-e1767202058777.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587451","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\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2587451"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587455,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587451\/revisions\/2587455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2587451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2587451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2587451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}