Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 7, 2025, for her first oversight hearing, defending her eight-month tenure amid fierce criticism from Democratic senators about DOJ politicization, grant cuts to law enforcement, and alleged weaponization of justice. The hearing devolved into heated exchanges as Bondi clashed repeatedly with Democrats over investigations of former FBI Director James Comey, the closing of a bribery probe involving Border Czar Tom Homan, controversies surrounding the Epstein files, and her dinner with President Trump the night before Comey’s indictment. Bondi touted law enforcement statistics including 3,800 arrests in Washington D.C. and partnerships with Memphis officials, while Democrats questioned the independence of prosecutorial decisions, the firing of antitrust officials, and the administration’s targeting of political opponents through investigations explicitly demanded by Trump on social media. Assistance from Claude AI.
Participants
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA) – Committee Chairman
- Dick Durbin (D-IL) – Ranking Member
- Pamela Bondi – Attorney General of the United States (87th)
- Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – Senator
- Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – Senator
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – Senator
- Ted Cruz (R-TX) – Senator
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) – Senator
- John Cornyn (R-TX) – Senator
- Josh Hawley (R-MO) – Senator
- Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) – Senator
- Mazie Hirono (D-HI) – Senator
- Cory Booker (D-NJ) – Senator
- Mike Lee (R-UT) – Senator
- Alex Padilla (D-CA) – Senator
- Peter Welch (D-VT) – Senator (also identified as Senator Coons in portions)
- Thom Tillis (R-NC) – Senator
- Adam Schiff (D-CA) – Senator
- John Kennedy (R-LA) – Senator
Detailed Breakdown by Topic
Opening Statements: Democrats Accuse DOJ of Politicization and Undermining Safety
Dick Durbin delivered a scathing opening statement accusing Bondi of making America less safe and fundamentally transforming the Justice Department. He criticized the attempted installation of Alina Habba and Sigal Chatha as federal prosecutors, both of whom courts ruled were serving illegally. Durbin claimed Habba said she would use her position to “turn New Jersey red” and Chatha once said a Black political opponent “should be hanging from an effing crane.”
Durbin outlined multiple allegations:
- Shutdown of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which had dismantled thousands of criminal organizations
- Diversion of thousands of FBI, DEA, and ATF agents from their missions to carry out mass deportations
- Federal drug prosecutions dropping to the lowest level in decades
- Unilateral termination of 373 grants providing half a billion dollars to state and local law enforcement
- The 2026 Trump budget slashing High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program from $300 million to $196 million
Durbin described a chaotic raid in Chicago where federal agents “pulled women and children out of their beds, crashed down doors, destroyed apartments, zip-tied children, detained immigrants and U.S. citizens alike for hours in vans.” He quoted one witness who complained about treatment of small children, to which an agent allegedly responded: “F them kids.”
The Ranking Member cited a federal judge’s ruling that deploying the National Guard in Portland was illegal, and criticized Stephen Miller’s accusation of “legal insurrection” against the judge. Durbin contrasted President Biden’s approach—retaining Trump’s FBI Director Christopher Wray—with Trump’s pattern of firing appointees who refuse to prosecute his targets, stating: “What has taken place since January 20th, 2025 would make even President Nixon recoil.”
Bondi’s opening statement took a defensive posture, beginning with a remembrance of the October 7th attacks on Jewish people. She framed her tenure around two main goals: ending the weaponization of justice and returning DOJ to fighting violent crime. Bondi claimed the FBI had secretly investigated senators “to take President Trump off the playing field,” calling it “a historic betrayal of public trust.”
She highlighted law enforcement accomplishments:
- 3,800 arrests in Washington D.C. with more than 365 illegal guns seized
- 300 arrests in Memphis with close to 80 illegal guns in one week
- FBI’s Operation Summer Heat: 8,600 arrests from June to September, with 6,500 arrests under the Violent Crime and Gang Program
- DEA seizures: 47.9 million fentanyl pills and 4,500 kilos of fentanyl powder, representing 370 million deadly doses
- U.S. Marshals: 51,000 fugitives arrested nationwide since January 20th
- ATF: 23,000 illegal guns removed from streets, with 3,400 linked to trafficking between U.S. and Mexico
Bondi emphasized DOJ has been sued more than 400 times since January 20th, with judges issuing more than 90 temporary restraining orders—more than previous administrations combined—but secured 22 victories at the Supreme Court.
Grant Terminations and Resource Reallocation
Chairman Grassley questioned Bondi about grant reviews and resource reallocation. Bondi acknowledged “some grants were mistakenly terminated” and outlined an appeals process. Of 5,800 discretionary grants reviewed, only 376 (approximately 7%) were terminated. OJP (Office of Justice Programs) has turned back on 18 awards, denied 17 appeals, with the rest actively being reviewed.
Durbin challenged Bondi on cutting federal grant programs to Illinois law enforcement, to which Bondi responded: “Tell me a specific grant that I have turned off in Illinois that would help law enforcement and I will work with you, but you have not done that.” She noted the National Guard and Director Patel were on their way to Chicago “to keep your state safe” even as Durbin was questioning her.
On the HIDTA budget cuts, Bondi explained: “The budget transfers $196 million for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to the Office of Justice Programs, OJP. The Justice Department will continue to administer those grants under OJP in 2026.”
Qatar Jet Controversy and Ethics Questions
Durbin pressed Bondi on whether DOJ consulted with the ethics office about President Trump’s acceptance of a jet from Qatar. Bondi clarified her role with Qatar: “In private practice, I worked for Qatar for anti-human trafficking for the World Cup. That was my only involvement.” She stated: “My office of legal counsel provides confidential advice to the President, to the White House, period.”
When Durbin asked if she consulted the DOJ ethics office before making decisions on “this gift of a jet,” Bondi corrected: “Chairman, I didn’t gift a jet to anyone.”
Chairman Grassley interjected with historical context about the Emoluments Clause, noting he wrote to the Obama Justice Department in March 2016 about Secretary Clinton’s 2009-2013 financial disclosures showing her husband participated in at least 62 events with foreign states. Examples included Bill Clinton receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for appearances sponsored by Middle Eastern governments and $200,000 for a speech connected to the Chinese government.
Epstein Files Controversy
Durbin confronted Bondi about her February claim that the “Epstein client list was sitting on my desk right now for review,” which was followed by a White House media event producing already public information but no client list.
Bondi responded: “If you listen to my entire clip on that, I said I had not reviewed it yet, that it was sitting on my desk along with the JFK files, the Martin Luther King files, and I said I had not yet reviewed it.” She referenced their July 6th memo that “clearly points out that there was no client list.”
Durbin cited a whistleblower who made a protected disclosure about Bondi pushing the FBI to review approximately 100,000 Epstein-related records on an arbitrarily short deadline in March, with the FBI directed to flag documents mentioning President Trump. He questioned why the July 7th memo was unsigned.
Bondi turned the tables: “Senator Durbin, I find it very interesting that you refused repeated Republican requests to release the Epstein flight logs in 2023 and 2024. You fought that. Did you take money from Reid Hoffman, campaign donations? Who was a huge Epstein friend. Why did you fight for years? Why did you fight to not disclose the flight log, Senator Durbin?”
Durbin denied refusing and stated he asked Senator Blackburn to put her request in writing, which she never did. Blackburn immediately intervened to correct the record, stating she “repeatedly asked for those flight logs” and brought up the subpoena, claiming Durbin “even shut down the committee” to avoid it.
Arctic Frost Surveillance of Republican Senators
Grassley highlighted revelations about Operation Arctic Frost, where Republican senators were targeted by government surveillance, calling it “arguably worse than Watergate.” He asked how many DOJ employees would be held accountable for the FBI secretly investigating senators.
Bondi expressed outrage: “The weaponization against you and your colleagues should greatly concern all of us. It should concern Democrats, it should concern Republicans. Yet we don’t see that.”
Senator Blackburn later emphasized: “To tap our phones, to pull that data for these wireless companies, to have allowed them to have that, and for them to use it in their investigations, how disgusting is that?” She called for not only firing those responsible but prosecuting them: “If they did wrong, not only fire them, prosecute them.”
Immigration Enforcement and Sanctuary Cities
Senator Graham questioned Bondi about illegal immigration in Chicago and sanctuary city policies. Bondi reported a 1000% increase in violent attacks against ICE officers since January 20th.
Bondi highlighted major wins against cartels in Chicago:
- September 15th: ICE arrested an illegal alien from Mexico for beating a 21-year-old man to death who had been imprisoned in Illinois and released under the Illinois Trust Act
- September 5th: Federal grand jury indicted a major Sinaloa Cartel boss on narco-terrorism, guns, and drug charges
- July 11th: Guilty plea from Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, one of the world’s worst narco-terrorists, on drug conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise charges in Illinois
Bondi stated: “Illinois has a Trust Act which prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with our federal immigration authorities.” She condemned Governor Pritzker for not cooperating with law enforcement.
Senator Cornyn established the constitutional basis for federal law enforcement in sanctuary cities, asking what legal basis a governor or mayor would have to prevent federal agents from enforcing federal law. Bondi responded: “Senator, there is not one.”
She contrasted cooperation in Washington D.C. with Mayor Muriel Bowser—describing her as “an incredible partner”—with resistance in Chicago and other sanctuary cities.
Comparisons to Biden Administration Weaponization
Senator Graham laid out a timeline of what Republicans view as political prosecution of Trump:
- September 2022: New York Attorney General Letitia James said in campaign she would go after Trump, his business, and family “with full force”
- November 15, 2022: Trump announces candidacy for president
- November 2022 (3 days after announcement): Jack Smith appointed by Garland as special counsel for classified documents and 2020 election matters
- March 2023: Trump indicted in Manhattan on 34 felony counts using a legal theory “no one in the history of Manhattan had ever been charged with”
- June 2023: Federal grand jury in Southern District of Florida indicted Trump on 37 charges regarding classified information
Graham contrasted this with Biden family matters, citing 51 intelligence professionals who signed a letter claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation, which was later proven to be authentic.
James Comey Indictment and Presidential Influence
Senator Klobuchar questioned whether Bondi has upheld her confirmation commitment that “politics will not play a part in my decisions” and “the Justice Department must be independent.”
Bondi affirmed: “I absolutely have upheld that commitment, Senator.”
Klobuchar referenced a Truth Social post on September 20, 2025 where President Trump wrote: “We can’t delay any longer, Pam. Not bringing criminal charges are killing our reputation and credibility,” then directed Bondi to prosecute a committee member, the Attorney General of New York, and James Comey.
Bondi responded: “President Trump is the most transparent president in American history and I don’t think he said anything that he hasn’t said for years.”
Klobuchar asked if Bondi initially pushed back against firing Acting U.S. Attorney in Virginia Erik Siebert, a conservative Republican who made the decision that evidence was insufficient to prosecute Comey, and what changed her opinion.
Bondi refused to discuss personnel decisions.
Senator Blumenthal dramatically displayed a photo showing Bondi at dinner with President Trump the night before Comey’s indictment. Blumenthal asked: “Was James Comey discussed at that dinner?”
Bondi responded: “I love that picture. That’s a great picture. And there were a lot of people there that night. I think the entire cabinet was there… I’m not going to discuss any conversations I had or not have with the President of the United States.”
Blumenthal took that as a “yes,” stating the American public is entitled to know “whether you took instructions from President Trump after he told you very directly to indict James Comey, which is weaponization of the Department of Justice.”
Bondi countered: “James Comey was indicted by one of the most liberal grand juries in the United States.”
Antitrust Enforcement Controversies
Senator Blumenthal questioned the Hewlett-Packard Enterprises and Juniper Network merger settlement, which produced “virtually no concessions” and prompted criticism from the antitrust division. He asked if Bondi authorized the settlement herself.
Bondi stated: “Gail Slater is doing an incredible job running the anti-trust unit.” She noted it’s “still a pending matter” because mergers “have to go to a court of law to be approved. It’s a multi-step process.”
Blumenthal asked if Bondi authorized the firing of two top antitrust officials—Roger Alford and Bill Center—after they reportedly objected to the settlement. Bondi refused to discuss “personnel matters or pending litigation.”
Blumenthal also questioned the American Express/GBT merger, where Brian Ballard—a longtime Trump backer and head of the law firm where Bondi worked—was “instrumental in lobbying the Justice Department to drop that lawsuit.”
Bondi responded forcefully: “Senator Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service… You lied. You admitted you lied to be elected a US Senator.”
Senator Booker raised concerns that the Public Corruption Unit went from 36 full-time prosecutors to only two, despite bipartisan concern about public corruption. He noted DOJ “stopped enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, dismissed the indictment against a Trump donor, Andrew Weidenhorn, cut back on white collar investigations.”
Bondi responded the public integrity section “has not been slashed. Those are going to the various US attorney offices to be handled in each office around the country instead of one unit based in DC.”
Minneapolis Church Shooting and Gun Violence
Senator Klobuchar thanked the FBI and local justice officials for catching the murderer in the horrific shooting of her friend, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and Senator John Hoffman.
She described the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota where a shooter attacked through stained-glass windows, injuring 21 people including 18 kids, killing little Fletcher and Harper, ages 8 and 10.
Klobuchar referenced Bondi’s work as Florida Attorney General defending the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act after the Parkland shooting, which banned bump stocks, enacted red flag laws, and raised the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.
She asked if Bondi agreed that raising the age for purchasing assault weapons could reduce shootings, noting Director Patel seemed open to the idea. Bondi responded: “It’s pending litigation, Senator. I cannot discuss that.”
Bondi emphasized: “This is the most pro-Second Amendment DOJ in American history… we want to keep guns where they should be, in the hands of law-abiding American citizens while keeping them out of the hands of criminals and gangs.”
School Board Memo and Catholic Surveillance
Senator Hawley condemned what he called “the ultimate weaponization” under the Biden administration, displaying images related to controversial DOJ actions:
- Merrick Garland’s memo activating the FBI’s counterterrorism division against parents at school board meetings
- Mark Hauck, a pro-lifer prosecuted for “praying on a sidewalk outside an abortion clinic,” whose home was raided by an FBI SWAT team “in the early morning hours with his beautiful children there, terrorizing them with weapons drawn”
- 92 conservative organizations put under surveillance and targeted for potential prosecution
Hawley stated: “What we now know happened in the last years under this administration surpasses all of [Watergate and J. Edgar Hoover’s abuses]. It surpasses all of it.”
He called for a special prosecutor “whose sole responsibility will be to get to the bottom of what has happened,” including:
- Who approved wiretaps on United States Senators
- Who signed off on the Catholic surveillance memo
- Who authorized prosecution of Mark Hauck and other pro-lifers
- Complete transparency about the last four years of alleged DOJ weaponization
Bondi responded emphatically: “That is the ultimate weaponization. And weaponization under Donald Trump has ended. It has ended. Harmeet Dhillon is running our civil rights unit and she is doing an incredible job. No longer will parents be targeted.”
Tom Homan Bribery Allegations
Multiple Democratic senators pressed Bondi about reports that Tom Homan, the president’s top deportation official, took $50,000 in cash in a bag from undercover FBI agents in September 2024, reportedly indicating he would facilitate securing contracts in exchange once in the Trump administration. The exchange was allegedly caught on tape.
Senator Coons asked if there was “a tape that has audio and video of the transfer of the 50,000.”
Bondi stated: “You would have to talk to Director Patel about that… I don’t know the answer, Senator.”
Coons pressed: “If you don’t know, why don’t you know whether there was a tape and video?”
Bondi responded: “Senator, I believe that was resolved prior to my confirmation as Attorney General.”
Coons asked if Bondi had “no interest in knowing where” the $50,000 is.
Bondi responded: “You’re not going to sit here and slander Tom Homan. The FBI and Deputy Director Blanche said there was nothing.”
Senator Schiff was even more confrontational, asking whether White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt was truthful when she denied Homan took the money. Bondi stated Leavitt is “one of the most trustworthy human beings I know.”
Schiff displayed a video of Homan on Fox refusing to answer whether he took the money. When Schiff asked Bondi if she would support providing the video or audio tape to the committee, Bondi responded: “Senator Schiff, you can talk to Director Patel about that.”
Bondi added: “If you worked for me, you would’ve been fired. Because you were censured by Congress for lying.”
Schiff countered: “You can stipulate to all your personal attacks on the Democratic members of the committee… What we’re interested in is the answer to these oversight questions.”
The exchange continued with Bondi stating: “You think you got a gotcha with Tom Homan, our border czar, who’s been out there fighting for our country since Donald Trump took office.”
Arctic Frost Wiretaps of Senators
Senator Kennedy methodically questioned Bondi about the legal requirements for obtaining phone records of sitting United States Senators through subpoenas duces tecum.
Bondi explained you would need “good cause” and “would have to show is that you believed a crime had been committed or that there was a possibility of a crime or that could lead to other crimes… they would have to have believed you were part of a criminal conspiracy.”
Kennedy emphasized that a judge would have to sign off, and phone companies’ general counsel would have the right to seek to quash such subpoenas and would typically call the senator to ask if they wanted to weigh in.
Bondi confirmed phone companies “frequently” seek to quash such subpoenas.
The revelation that eight sitting United States Senators had their phone records subpoenaed drew sharp condemnation. Senator Blackburn called it “disgusting” and demanded not just firings but prosecutions: “If they did wrong, not only fire them, prosecute them.”
Memphis Federal Surge
Senator Blackburn praised the Memphis Safe Task Force collaboration between Bondi, President Trump, and Director Patel:
- 503 arrests with FBI task force in July and August
- 321 arrests with Memphis Safe Task Force in one week
- 83 firearms seized
- Seven missing children recovered
- 28 gang members arrested
- Over 120 federal indictments
Bondi reported visiting Memphis with Secretary Hegseth, where approximately 1,100 officers from at least 13 agencies worked hand-in-hand. She emphasized Memphis has “the highest violent crime rate in the entire country.”
Bondi addressed cashless bail policies promoted by Memphis’s “very liberal DA”: “We’re going to protect the Memphis police officers. We’re going to take every single case federally that we can. Because the DA has cashless bail. It’s a revolving door and no one is being held accountable.”
Blackburn raised concerns about a Shelby County official who attempted to dox federal officers on social media, tweeting their location with photos: “Attention, on Peabody between McLean and Cooper four Fed vehicles and a trooper, men in full gear and guns on street. #payattentionfolks.”
Blackburn noted she has legislation “that would make it a crime to dox any federal law enforcement official when they are doing their job.”
Voting Rights and Election Integrity
Senator Coons (identified as Welch in portions) questioned Bondi about a letter sent by DOJ’s voting rights chief demanding states provide all voting file information, including personal information. The announcement referenced concerns about the voting process being taken over by “the left.”
Coons asked: “Do you have any information with respect to Vermont about a takeover of the voting process by, quote, the left?”
Bondi replied: “Senator, I’m not familiar with what you’re referring to.”
When pressed about the legal basis for demanding Vermont turn over confidential voting information, Bondi stated: “We must have fair and free elections… And we have every right to have that information, Senator… We’ve asked that of every state.”
Coons noted Vermont has a Republican governor and questioned what factual basis justified the demand. Bondi responded: “Well, it would remain confidential with my office. And you just said that you have a Republican governor, so it doesn’t make sense what you just said.”
Unaccompanied Alien Children and Human Trafficking
Senator Cornyn highlighted “one of the least reported tragedies and scandals associated with the Biden open border policies”—500,000 unaccompanied children (UACs) whom the Biden administration placed with largely unvetted sponsors, then abandoned by taking the position it’s not the federal government’s responsibility to follow up.
Bondi reported the Trump administration has located 22,000 of these 500,000 children. Law enforcement has arrested approximately 458 sponsors who lied to ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) to obtain children, then exploited and abused them.
One case involved “a Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Cleveland” who became the sponsor of a young girl and “was later sexually abusing her.”
Bondi stated: “Donald Trump will not rest until all of these sponsors are found and these children are found and protected.”
Government Shutdown Politics
Multiple times during the hearing, Bondi and Republican senators raised the ongoing government shutdown, with Bondi emphasizing federal law enforcement officers were “working without a paycheck.”
Senator Cornyn asked: “Do you find it somewhat inconsistent that our Democratic colleagues claim to support law enforcement and the rule of law, but yet they vote to deny those same individuals the pay which they’ve earned?”
Bondi responded: “Our law enforcement agencies, DEA, ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals… all of my federal prosecutors, all of our employees are working tirelessly, around the clock to keep this country safe and to keep this world safe. Yet the Democrats voted to shut the government down, and they are out there working without a paycheck with families at home, risking their lives every single day.”
Bondi attributed the shutdown to Democrats wanting “healthcare for illegal aliens.”
Illegal Vaping and THC Products
Senator Tillis questioned Bondi about illegal marijuana sales by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee on tribal lands in North Carolina, including a mobile app allowing people to order marijuana for pickup at tribal boundaries.
Bondi stated she was “not familiar with that app, but we will certainly look at that.”
Tillis highlighted inconsistencies in federal marijuana law, noting it’s impossible to legally transport marijuana grown at one Cherokee location to a non-contiguous dispensary location without violating federal law.
Bondi addressed the broader vaping crisis: “These illegal vapes, they’re all over this country. You can buy them in convenience stores, you can buy them in grocery stores. One vape is the equivalent of, I believe, 20 cigarettes. The flavored ones are illegal, and they’re targeting children.”
She noted some vapes “have video games attached to them. That’s not targeting an adult, it’s targeting a child.” The majority come from China and “they’re lacing them with THC.”
Bondi warned: “Right now, I can’t say that I have seen deaths with fentanyl-laced, but we want to get on the front end of this because that’s what’s next.”
National Guard Deployments
Senator Tillis questioned whether National Guard deployments to Chicago and Portland represent “a best practice” or “just a necessary evil” masking the “abject failure of leaders at the state and local level.”
Bondi responded: “Seeing what’s happening in Chicago, they need the National Guard. Our ICE members need the National Guard to protect the national buildings.”
She emphasized cooperation in Memphis where “Secretary Hegseth used all Tennessee Guard. They’re working hand in hand with the Memphis Police Department who I believe were very happy to have them there.”
Tillis expressed concern that without addressing systemic problems, “what we’ve basically done is given a governor, a mayor and city councilman a pass on failing to protect their people.”
Bondi assured: “I don’t believe our National Guard want to be doing that, but they’re going to be where they have to be to keep Americans safe.”
Closing Tensions and Personal Attacks
The hearing concluded with particularly heated exchanges. Senator Schiff criticized the politicization of DOJ and questioned Bondi about closing investigations into “possible corruption of the Mayor of New York or of a high-level administration official taking $50,000 reportedly in cash in a bag, or a child sex predator who befriended the president and some of his cabinet members.”
Bondi responded: “Senator Schiff, if you worked for me, you would’ve been fired. Because you were censured by Congress for lying.”
Multiple Democratic senators attempted to speak out of turn, with the chair repeatedly calling for “regular order.”
Bondi refused to answer whether Homan took the $50,000, stating repeatedly it was “resolved prior to my confirmation” and directing senators to “talk to Director Patel.”
The hearing exposed deep partisan divisions over DOJ independence, with Republicans accusing the Biden administration of unprecedented weaponization while Democrats expressed alarm about Trump’s explicit public directions to prosecute political opponents and Bondi’s refusal to rule out following those directions.
Citation
“Bondi Faces Senate Questioning on DOJ Oversight.” Rev, 7 Oct. 2025, www.rev.com/transcripts/bondi-faces-senate-questioning-ondoj-oversight. Transcript.