Government

That Was Fast: Bondi’s Portrait Already Living At The Dump

From the wall to the bin in minutes, with a karmic assist from her own management style.

(Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Pam Bondi’s tenure as attorney general didn’t just end abruptly, it ended curbside.

Because in a bit of poetic efficiency that would make even the most overworked line prosecutor crack a smile, Bondi’s official DOJ portrait was reportedly spotted in the trash mere minutes after Donald Trump gave her the boot. Just straight to the bin, like last week’s takeout and this week’s credibility.

The fast portraiture turnaround was something multiple people noted.

And look, there are a lot of ways to measure your impact as attorney general. But tracking it in terms of how quickly does your government-issued pic become literal garbage is a new one! And, in Bondi’s case, that honestly tracks. Her stint at the DOJ was marked less by stewardship of the rule of law and more by an aggressive housecleaning campaign where loyalty was preferred over longevity or even basic skills.

It’s also hilarious karma. Early in her tenure at the DOJ, Bondi reportedly demoted a career prosecutor for the unforgivable offense of failing to redecorate quickly enough. The man had left portraits of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Merrick Garland hanging in a front office after Trump’s inauguration. A lag in swapping out the wall art, and suddenly it’s a career-limiting move. It’s interior decorating, but make it authoritarian — man, they’ll put anything on HGTV these days.


Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].