The Trump admin is in a showdown with the courts. Fireworks are on the horizon.
Because a top federal judge was just skewered by Trump’s U.S. Attorney General.
Attorney General Pam Bondi Lambasts Court Judge For ‘Meddling’ In Executive Affairs
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News and sharply criticized U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, accusing him of interfering with President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport criminal migrants. The confrontation stems from a temporary block on deportations issued by Boasberg on Saturday evening, coinciding with Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). That same day, over 200 gang members were swiftly deported to El Salvador.
The exchange unfolded during an interview on Jesse Watters Primetime, where guest host Judge Jeanine Pirro pressed Bondi on the judge’s authority to challenge Trump’s actions. Pirro questioned how Boasberg could override the president’s powers in matters of national security and foreign policy and whether the administration intended to comply with the judge’s order moving forward.
“Well, that’s it. He’s attempting to meddle in national security and foreign affairs, and he can’t do it,” Bondi responded firmly. “What he’s done is an intrusion on the president’s authority. You know, this one federal judge, again, thinks he can control foreign policy for the entire country, and he cannot. Right now we’re evaluating our options.”
The controversy began on Saturday when Trump issued a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used law from 1798 that allows the president to detain and deport noncitizens deemed a threat during times of war or national emergency. In the proclamation, Trump designated TdA members as “Alien Enemies,” ordering their immediate arrest and removal from the United States. According to CBS News, 261 migrants were deported to El Salvador that day, with 137 specifically removed under the Alien Enemies Act due to alleged gang affiliations.
Judge Boasberg, based in Washington, D.C., responded quickly. Following a series of exchanges with the Department of Justice in court, he convened an emergency hearing on Saturday evening. Initially, his order halted the deportations, but he later expanded it to prohibit the removal of “all noncitizens in U.S. custody.” Notably, Boasberg’s ruling did not mandate the return of deportation flights already airborne, as reported by CBS News.
The deportations marked a significant escalation in Trump’s immigration enforcement strategy, targeting a gang he has described as a national security threat. The 261 deportees included over 200 TdA members, who were sent to El Salvador, a country that has taken a hardline stance against gang activity under President Nayib Bukele. On Sunday morning, Bukele confirmed that 238 TdA members had arrived and were “immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).”
Back on Fox News, Pirro asked Bondi whether the administration would persist with its deportation plans despite Boasberg’s order. Bondi’s response was unequivocal. “Absolutely,” she said. “These are foreign terrorists that the president has identified and designated them as such, and we will continue to follow the Alien Enemies Act.”
The administration’s next steps remain under review, as Bondi indicated they are still weighing their options in response to Boasberg’s ruling. For now, the deportation of TdA members to El Salvador stands as a concrete action, with the administration showing no signs of backing down from its aggressive stance on criminal migrants.
Pam Bondi Wastes No Time In Reshaping DOJ
Bondi took office vowing to dismantle what she calls the partisan rot left behind by the Biden administration. Detractors say she’s simply swapped one flavor of politics for another, but her allies see it differently. Mike Davis, a lawyer and Republican activist who’s advised Trump on Justice Department matters, puts it plainly: “The Justice Department is not independent of the President of the United States. Every federal prosecutor and agent reports to the deputy attorney general, who reports to the attorney general, who reports to the president, who is elected by all Americans. Anyone who thinks otherwise proves that the Deep State is not a conspiracy theory.” Davis adds, “President Trump is doing the unthinkable in Washington — he’s doing what he promised voters he would do and Pam Bondi is helping. She’s done more in a month than the last several attorneys general did in years.”
In her first month, Bondi has overseen a sweeping overhaul. Career lawyers, supposedly shielded by civil service rules, have been fired or shuffled aside without a word of explanation, according to current and former officials speaking to NBC News. She’s also thrown her weight behind dropping corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams—a move to enlist his help on immigration enforcement—that sparked the biggest exodus of career prosecutors since Watergate.
Then there’s Ed Martin, the acting U.S. attorney in D.C., who’s been rattling sabers at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Georgetown University over political gripes, all while Bondi stays mum. She’s even gone on record promising to axe any DOJ civil servants who “despise” Trump, a stance experts say flouts federal law. “These firings seem designed to make room for someone who is a political loyalist, someone who will do the White House’s bidding, in an effort to reshape the department into something that it has never been before,” a senior career official told NBC News, opting for anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Bondi’s not shy about her leanings either. She’s made six appearances on Fox News—her only media sit-downs—and spoken in terms that leave no doubt where her loyalties lie. Chatting with Sean Hannity, she recounted her shock at finding portraits of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Merrick Garland still hanging in the National Security Division’s offices on her first day. “That’s how bad it was,” she told Hannity. “So I personally took those off the wall. But that’s the tip of the iceberg.” She doubled down, vowing to “root out” employees “who despise Donald Trump,” adding, “they will no longer be employed.” It’s a fiery approach that’s got Trump’s base cheering, even if it’s ruffling feathers elsewhere.
The White House, through spokesman Harrison Fields, insists Trump isn’t trying to hijack the Justice Department. “President Trump cannot be more clear in stating that his Department of Justice will act independently of the White House and any assertion otherwise is a lie,” Fields said.
Yet Bondi’s kept a low profile outside the TV circuit. She popped up in photos posted on X by FBI Director Kash Patel, sporting a camo FBI cap and windbreaker at Dulles Airport during the extradition of a suspected terrorist from Pakistan. For Trump’s backers, Bondi’s moves are an overdue reckoning for a department they see as having strayed too far from the people’s will. Critics may cry foul, but from this vantage point, she’s proving Trump’s not afraid to keep his word—and she’s the right hand he needs to make it happen.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
