After avoiding much of the churn, firings and senior official turnover that marked his first term, US President Donald Trump on Thursday added to the string of high-profile departures in recent days, as bad news heaped more pressure on the White House.
The administration announced that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was leaving to be replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche, in an acting capacity. “We love Pam,” Trump wrote on social media. “She will be transitioning to a much-needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.
The Pentagon also said on Thursday that General Randy George would be retiring “effective immediately” from his position as the US Army’s 41st Chief of Staff, as the United States wages a war against Iran. “We wish him well,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media.
This follows the de facto firing of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem last month, and the transfer of Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino after two US citizens died in an aggressive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
Noem was moved to a newly created “special envoy for the shield of the Americas” position following her departure from the cabinet.
