Topline
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told CNN on Wednesday she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after leaving the Justice Department and is undergoing treatment, as the ex-AG is still expected to testify before Congress on Friday about her handling of the Epstein files.
Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi during a lunch in the East Room of the White House on March 16 in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
Bondi told CNN she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after the former AG was ousted from her role at the DOJ in early April.
Bondi is undergoing treatment and recovering from surgery, but told CNN she is “doing well, though.”
The former AG’s diagnosis was first reported Tuesday by Axios, and political allies had expressed support for Bondi before she officially commented on her diagnosis, with Katie Miller, wife of White House advisor Stephen Miller, writing on X on Tuesday that Bondi “has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks.”
The news of Bondi’s diagnosis comes days before she’s expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee, testifying Friday as part of the committee’s broader investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged abuse.
There’s so far no indication Bondi’s diagnosis will impact her scheduled appearance, which was rescheduled after a previous planned interview in April was canceled following her departure from DOJ.
Bondi is also rejoining the Trump administration as a member of a new board focused on AI policy, Axios first reported.
What To Watch For
Bondi’s testimony Friday is hotly anticipated, as the attorney general has faced numerous questions over her handling of the Epstein files. Her testimony will take place behind closed doors, but a transcript is expected to be released. Bondi and other DOJ officials made an abrupt decision to withhold the Epstein files—until Congress forced their release—last summer, sparking widespread controversy after Bondi initially said she would make the materials public. She continued to face scrutiny even after the files were released earlier this year, as the files included a number of missing pages, redaction errors—with some victims’ names remaining public while names of Epstein allies were redacted—and other issues that have drawn criticism from the left.
Key Background
President Donald Trump announced Bondi was fired as attorney general on April 2, replacing her with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche after days of speculation suggesting she could be ousted. Reports suggest Trump made the decision to terminate Bondi at least in part based on her handling of the Epstein files, as the DOJ’s announcement they’d withhold the files sparked a massive backlash from even the president’s supporters. Bondi’s planned appearance before the House Oversight Committee this week comes after her failure to speak to the committee in April, as previously scheduled, became a matter of controversy. The DOJ claimed Bondi was no longer bound by a subpoena to testify because she was subpoenaed in her role as the attorney general, which she no longer held, and forced the House Oversight Committee to ask her again to testify as a private citizen. Democrats had threatened to hold Bondi in contempt if she failed to appear before the committee, and have been pushing for her testimony Friday to be publicly broadcast. Bondi previously faced off with members of Congress in February about her handling of the Epstein files during a testy House hearing, in which she pointedly declined to apologize to Epstein victims who were present at the hearing and sharply criticized lawmakers who took issue with the DOJ’s management of the files.