Congress
Ousted AG Bondi could still be on the hook to testify in Epstein case
Pam Bondi is out as attorney general, but she might still be in the hot seat with Congress.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer issued a subpoena for Bondi’s testimony last month following a bipartisan vote to compel her deposition for the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Immediately following her firing Thursday by President Donald Trump, members of the committee said they still wanted to hear from her, and Comer did not rule it out.
“Since Pam Bondi is no longer Attorney General, Chairman Comer will speak with Republican members and the Department of Justice about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps,” a committee spokesperson said in a statement.
The pressure could keep building on Comer to force Bondi’s testimony or hold her in contempt of Congress if she refuses to comply — and it isn’t coming only from Democrats. The vote to subpoena Bondi was shepherded by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who was joined by four other Republican lawmakers and all Oversight Democrats present. After news of the attorney general’s firing, Mace posted a dramatic image of Bondi’s face superimposed on the word “FIRED.”
“Bondi handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and seriously undermined President Trump,” Mace said in her social media post. “She has stonewalled every effort to hold the guilty accountable.”
Trump in a Truth Social post Thursday called Bondi a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend” but did not give a reason for her departure.
The ongoing calls for Bondi’s sworn testimony underscores the extent to which she has become the administration’s fall person for the seemingly endless Epstein saga.
Trump’s own relationship with the financier has prompted a host of questions about whether he knew of Epstein’s illegal conduct. And while the president has maintained the two had a falling out years ago and he hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing, Democrats allege that his administration is engaging in a cover-up — with Bondi central to that effort.
“She has weaponized the Department of Justice to protect Donald Trump and put survivors in harm’s way by exposing their identities,” said ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) in a statement Thursday. “She will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath.”
Blue Light News reported nearly a month ago that Bondi was in trouble with congressional Republicans over her handling of the federal Epstein inquiry. The Oversight Committee vote to subpoena the attorney general followed a shaky appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. That same week, Trump fired then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after her fraught back-to-back performances in front of key House and Senate panels.
“I just think it’s time to get some answers,” said Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who was among the Republicans who voted with Mace to approve a subpoena for Bondi. “She’s in the batter’s box. I’d say … let her hit.”
The exact timing of Bondi’s departure from government service is unclear. In a statement on social media Thursday afternoon, she said she would be working to hand over her duties to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over the next month. Blanche has been tapped to serve as acting attorney general until a full-time replacement is confirmed.
In the event that Bondi does appear before the committee in her capacity as a private individual, she would likely have to foot her own legal bills. Those who testify on Blue Light News about previous government service generally have to pay for their representation — including, for example, some of the former federal officials who testified in front of the Democratic-led select committee to investigate the Capitol attacks on Jan. 6, 2021.
A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment Thursday afternoon.
Democrats on the Oversight Committee aren’t likely to be sympathetic to Bondi’s plight.
Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) said in a statement that Bondi had “repeatedly and flagrantly violated the law and abused her position” and “must comply with the subpoena we issued and appear before our committee.”
Among some in the GOP, Bondi bears the blame for the fallout of the Epstein drama that has consumed Washington for over a year now.
In February 2025, Bondi promised to usher in a new era of transparency in the Epstein matter, but unveiled no new information. Five months later, the Justice Department in an unsigned memo announced it would not be releasing any further materials in the federal government’s investigation into the convicted sex offender. That decision drew outrage from Trump’s base, which has for years been clamoring for an Epstein “client list” that could include a vast web of powerful, wealthy men.
It launched a lengthy campaign to force the DOJ to fully release materials in the Epstein case, culminating in passage of a bill led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to make materials in the department’s possession publicly available.
As Republicans were locked in an impasse over whether to advance the bill, House Oversight absorbed the desire from members in both parties to keep demanding accountability over the stalled federal Epstein case. An Oversight subcommittee voted during an unrelated hearing to subpoena the DOJ’s Epstein files, which opened the floodgates for even more subpoenas — of everyone from the executors of Epstein’s estate to individuals in Epstein’s or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s orbit.
This has continued even after Congress finally passed the Massie-Khanna legislation which, in turn, led to the committee’s direct targeting of Bondi. She has been scrutinized anew in recent months for overseeing a delayed and haphazard release of the Epstein files, with critics saying the DOJ has been in flagrant noncompliance with that very bill.
In an apparent effort to neutralize the bipartisan push to compel her sworn testimony, Bondi voluntarily came to Capitol Hill last month to brief Oversight Committee members on her Department’s work around the Epstein case. She did not indicate during that closed-door meeting whether she would cooperate with the subpoena, according to Democrats in attendance.
Democrats at one point stormed out of the private briefing, saying it appeared to be an effort by Bondi to avoid testifying under oath. In wake of her termination, Khanna said in a statement she still had to answer for the lack of additional prosecutions in the Epstein case.
Only one person has been convicted on federal charges so far as part of Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme: Maxwell, his former girlfriend and associate. Under Bondi’s leadership, Maxwell was moved to a lower security prison camp in Texas after she sat for an interview with Blanche — a decision that drew questions around why she was moved to a facility perceived as less harsh. Maxwell has said she would cooperate in the congressional Epstein probes if she is granted clemency by Trump.
Lawmakers will almost certainly ask Bondi about this dynamic, if given the chance.
“Firing her does not end this,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of Oversight, in a statement. “Her removal only increases the urgency for the Oversight Committee to fulfill its oversight obligations.”
NEW YORK — With just five days to go until the primary election in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a stark warning to members of Congress who believe “incumbency is a substitute for action”: Watch out.
“People often ask me what I think of the state of the Democratic Party,” Mamdani said to the crowd at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn as he boosted his endorsed congressional candidates. “This slate here today is our answer. The Democratic Party must change.”
The democratic socialist framed Tuesday’s election as much more than what that means for New York, though. In recounting how people also ask him about the 2028 presidential election, he put it bluntly: “It starts now. It starts on Tuesday.”
“For far too long, our party has seen its job as managing decline instead of delivering material change for working people,” Mamdani said. “That old way of thinking will lose on Tuesday. And frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire. It will fall short of 270 electoral votes, because the party of the past will not be what leads us into the future.”
Mamdani, joined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, urged his supporters to show up for his endorsed candidates “the way you showed up for me.” They include former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who’s challenging two-term Rep. Dan Goldman; state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who’s vying for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat; and community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who’s trying to unseat five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Mamdani’s endorsed slate of legislative candidates were at the rally, too.
The rally featured standard stump speeches from the candidates, highlighting the need to support working class New Yorkers and immigrants. Speakers called out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel group that has loomed over many of these primaries — despite no evident spending from its independent expenditure arm. Sanders also emphasized his call to ban super PACs, which have reshaped primaries across the city.
Taking place just hours after the massive ticker-tape parade celebrating the Knicks’ historic championship, there were also Knicks references galore.
“I hate to break it to you, but OG Anunoby is not here to save the day,” said Mamdani, who was wearing a Knicks jersey under his suit. “The only hands we can count on are ours.”
Sanders, who is wildly popular in New York, previously endorsed Valdez and Lander. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier are members of the Democratic Socialists of America and are backed by the city chapter in their bids. Sanders had not officially endorsed Avila Chevalier prior to the rally.
“Why are progressives and socialist candidates winning elections all across this country?” Sanders asked. “The answer in my view is not complicated. The working class of America understands that our current economic system is rigged, that it is designed to benefit the wealthy and the powerful.”
Polling has shown Lander with a lead over Goldman, and a tight race for Velázquez’s seat. Public polling is scarce in the Espaillat race, but recent internal surveys suggest Avila Chevalier is posing a real challenge to the incumbent. Mamdani endorsed her just weeks ago, much later than Lander and Valdez, but his engagement in the race has significantly elevated its profile.
“Six months ago, they told us this race was over before it started,” Avila Chevalier said at the rally. “They told us Adriano was untouchable, that he was an institution, that you don’t run against someone like him and win. That this district was his, and that we should wait our turn. And they said it with such confidence, like the outcome had already been written. Look around. Look at what we’ve built.”
Mamdani’s decision to get involved in congressional races is stress-testing how the new mayor navigates relations with powerful, well-respected party figures — many of whom he’s on the opposite side of.
Mamdani’s endorsement is expected to be a significant asset for his picks; he had dominant performances across these districts in last year’s mayoral primary. And that shine doesn’t seem to have dulled. Recent polling has shown that Mamdani has high approval ratings.
Goldman did not support Mamdani during last year’s mayoral primary or the general election, as Lander has often pointed out. Espaillat backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary, but supported Mamdani in the general election. Valdez’s opponents, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and city Council Member Julie Won, both supported Mamdani in the primary.
The mayor has been active on the trail for his congressional candidates of choice in the closing stretch of the campaign. And he touted them all in an advertisement that ran during the first game of the Knicks’ finals run.
Still, Lander has tried to keep some distance. When asked at a recent press conference why he would appear in that ad with Avila Chevalier, who attended a pro-Palestinian rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in 2023 — the same rally Lander said he left the DSA over — he said it was an “opportunity to show New Yorkers that politics can be a team sport.” He also clarified that he has not endorsed candidates in any other congressional primaries.
Avila Chevalier told reporters that she went to that rally to “stand against” Israel engaging in “a response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life.” She added that she has “condemned Hamas” and does “not believe that celebrating the loss of anybody’s life is OK.”
Kings Theatre isn’t located in any of the districts these congressional hopefuls are trying to represent — though it neighbors the seats that Lander and Valdez have their eyes on.
It’s especially far from Espaillat’s district, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
While handing out campaign literature to people walking out of the subway in Hamilton Heights, Blue Light News asked Espaillat if he had thoughts about Avila Chevalier appearing at the rally.
“I’m rallying right here in my district with my constituents — not in Brooklyn,” he replied.
Jason Beeferman contributed to this report.
Retirement groups are calling on Congress to investigate Meta over a wave of social media scams targeting older Americans.
In a letter sent Thursday to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the groups alleged Meta has been slow to take down fraudulent ads, leaving seniors vulnerable to financial loss. The letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, was signed by the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Postal Workers Union Retirees and the American Federation of Teachers, among others.
“Fraudulent Medicare ads have proliferated on Meta platforms and too many seniors are getting scammed while Meta profits,” said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “We are calling on Congress to investigate how these scams are allowed to spread, what Meta knew about them, and why stronger protections are not in place. Seniors should not be left vulnerable while scammers and tech companies cash in.”
The letter’s demands follow a report published last month by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit advocacy group, which alleged that Meta has profited by leaving up fraudulent ads, many of which target Medicare recipients.
“Scammers are determined criminals who use increasingly sophisticated tactics to defraud people and evade detection,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement. “We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they’re not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services and for years we’ve been one of law enforcement’s strongest partners in the fight against this type of online crime — identifying criminals, disrupting their crimes and helping bring them to justice.”
Stone pointed to several examples of Meta’s efforts to combat scams on its platform, including a recent collaboration with U.S. and Thai law enforcement to disrupt online scams.
It’s not the first time Meta has faced scrutiny over the scams: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission to open an investigation into the company in November after Reuters reported that Meta in internal documents projected 10 percent of its 2024 revenue would come from fraudulent ads. And in February, a group of bipartisan lawmakers pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over its plans to prevent and combat fraud on its platforms.
Reps. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) also introduced bipartisan legislation earlier this year to combat predatory scam ads.
Congress is expected to send a landmark, bipartisan housing affordability bill to President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of next week as the Senate and House schedule action on the legislation in the coming days.
The Senate has teed up the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act for final passage on Monday, after completing all its necessary procedural votes this week.
The legislation will then move on to the House where GOP leadership plans to open debate on Wednesday, with a vote expected as early as the same day, according to six people familiar with the vote granted anonymity to discuss plans.
House leadership plans to suspend the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote, to speed up the bill’s path to Trump’s desk. Final passage could be pushed to Thursday depending on timing, the people said.
The housing bill aims to tackle housing affordability and boost homeownership and supply ahead of a midterm election dominated by cost-of-living concerns.
The four lawmakers leading the negotiations over the legislation — Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — came to an agreement Tuesday afternoon after months of back and forth on the bill’s contents.
The housing affordability legislation, which the White House supports, contains a provision limiting the role of large institutional investors in the single-family housing market, which was a key condition for Trump to sign the bill.
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