NEW YORK, United States (CMC) – Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman, Yvette D Clarke, has welcomed the dismissal of United States Attorney General Pam Bond, saying it was “long overdue.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed Bondi, a loyalist, replacing her temporarily with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former private lawyer. He said that Bondi would be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector”.

Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that, during Bondi’s “disgraceful tenure, she single-handedly corrupted the independence of the Department of Justice (DOJ).”

The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) claimed that Bondi had turned the DOJ “into an arm of President Trump’s personal defense team, focused on undermining the rule of law and seeking retribution against those on his perceived enemies list, including journalists, members of Congress, private citizens, and anyone who worked to hold him and his corrupt administration accountable.

“For months, Pam Bondi oversaw the illegal cover-up of the Jeffrey Epstein files to protect President Trump, carried out large-scale firings of career DOJ employees, and repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people.”

Clarke said she has cast “a dark shadow over the DOJ, tarnishing the credibility of our nation’s highest law enforcement agency”.

The Epstein files – a massive collection of over 3.5 million pages of documents, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images released by the DOJ in early 2026 – reportedly detail investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who reportedly committed suicide in prison, and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving time in prison.

Critics say the files include flight logs, emails and testimony that implicate several high-profile public figures. Trump allegedly had a close relationship with Epstein.

Clarke said Bondi’s firing “follows decisive action from within our Caucus, including Rep. Summer Lee’s introduction of articles of impeachment to hold Attorney General Bondi accountable”.

But she said Bondi’s ouster will not shield her from being held accountable for her “corrupt actions at the DOJ.

“We will continue to pursue true accountability for her abuses of power until the Trump administration’s culture of corruption comes to an end,” Clarke said.

United States House of Representatives Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the 8th Congressional District in New York, encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, with a sizeable concentration of Caribbean immigrants, described Bondi’s tenure as “the most corrupt Attorney General in modern American history”.

He said it was “a disgraceful affront to our Constitution.

“The so-called Attorney General and the pathetic, sycophantic political hacks installed with her have repeatedly weaponized the Department of Justice and taxpayer dollars to target political opponents of Donald Trump, trample the rights of law-abiding Americans and silence and attempt to intimidate those who disagree with this administration,” Jeffries said.

“Pam Bondi has lied to Congress and to the American people. Under her tenure, the Department has lost centuries of professional experience, willfully violated federal law and judicial orders alike, while at the same time, hiding millions of documents linked to the Epstein files in a massive cover-up.”

But Jeffries said that “this long-overdue firing is not enough to restore the credibility of the Justice Department or fix this rotten, out-of-control administration.

“House Democrats will hold every political extremist involved in unprecedented abuses of power accountable for their lawlessness,” he vowed.

But even with her firing, Trump lauded Bondi for her work, while not specifying the reason for her ouster.

“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” he posted on his Truth Social social media platform.

“Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900.”

However, reports indicate that Trump was very displeased about Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and that she did not go far enough in prosecuting Trump’s perceived political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Bondi posted on X, formerly twitter, on Thursday that she would aid in the Blanche’s transition.

“Leading President Trump’s historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime, and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history,” she posted.

“I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again,” added Bondi, whose firing followed that of Kristi Noem, Trump’s secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.