Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, she told CNN in an interview published Wednesday.
Bondi said she was diagnosed shortly after she was fired by President Donald Trump in April. She underwent surgery as part of her treatment a few weeks ago and is “doing well” as she continues to recover, she told CNN.
Bondi faced bipartisan backlash during her short tenure as the nation’s top prosecutor after several lawmakers accused her of mishandling the Justice Department’s documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department is required to publish unclassified material related to the prosecution of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The lawmakers said the Justice Department was sloppy in redacting the names and images of survivors, omitted the identities of some prominent figures and tracked lawmakers’ search history of the files.
She is expected to testify Friday before the House Oversight Committee about her handling of the documents.
In February, Bondi sat before the House Judiciary Committee for several hours in a tense hearing during which she insulted lawmakers, defended Trump and refused to address survivors of Epstein’s abuse who were in the room.
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Bondi has also been accused of exacting revenge on behalf of the president. In September, Trump posted what appeared to be a message meant for Bondi on Truth Social in which he urged her to prosecute his political adversaries, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Under Bondi’s leadership, the Justice Department eventually indicted Comey and James.
Bondi was replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche. She will assume a new role in the administration on the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The White House said the panel will be chaired by former White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and White House science adviser Michael Kratsios.
In a statement on Bondi’s new appointment, Vice President JD Vance said, “Pam has been an enormously valuable asset to the president’s team, and I’m thrilled for her and for all of us that she’s going to remain involved in confronting some of the most important issues the administration faces.”
Axios first reported the news of Bondi’s new role in the administration.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.