Bondi testifies before Congress at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: Live updates
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before Congress at a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday morning. The appearance comes as critics mount concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized to go after President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies.
Bondi’s hearing marks her first interrogation by lawmakers since July and comes after the controversial indictment of ex-FBI Director James Comey.
Watch Bondi’s testimony live below:
Live updates:
11:40 a.m.: Roe v. Wade draft opinion leak
During his comments, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, addressed the draft opinion that leaked prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He asked Bondi if she saw that leak as a criminal act.
Bondi said she can’t address the matter, but “that comment should answer your question.”
Cruz then asked Bondi, “if there isn’t one already,” to launch an investigation into the leak and determine who was responsible for it.
He mentioned protests and threats towards Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, asking Bondi to look into it and prosecute those who threatened officials.
11:25 a.m.: Weaponization of the DOJ
Numerous senators brought up allegations of the weaponization of the Department of Justice. However, some were against the DOJ under former President Joe Biden.
Sen. Josh Hawley brought up recent allegations that, as part of a special counsel investigation into January 6, Jack Smith obtained phone records of nine GOP lawmakers. Hawley asked Bondi if she sees that as “weaponization,” to which Bondi said yes.
Bondi said the FBI and DOJ are investigating, but could not share more details as it’s an ongoing investigation.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal then followed up on Hawley’s comments about weaponization with his own example of what he sees as an instance of weaponization.
He brought up a recent post from Donald Trump on Truth Social. In the post, Trump asked Bondi to target his political enemies. He urged her to go after people he has grievances with, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff and others.
Blumenthal then asked Bondi if she had discussed targeting specific people with President Trump. She said she would not discuss private conversations she’s had with White House personnel.
11:10 a.m.: Support for victims of crime
Sen. Chris Coons, D-CT, addressed grants that were canceled earlier this year, saying some were for victims of crime. He questioned Bondi about the grants, who responded by saying some of those grants have been “turned back on.”
Bondi noted that if any grant has been canceled and a senator has an issue with it, she said they can contact her and work together to get it “turned back on.”
11:05 a.m.: Bureau of Prisons
Bondi spoke about the U.S. prison system, saying she supports halfway houses. She said the administration is working to not only help those in custody turn their lives around, but also “keep America safe.”
She discussed the budget for the Bureau of Prisons, which includes an increase in the number of correction officers.
11 a.m.: Immigration and drugs in the U.S.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, praised Bondi during the committee hearing, saying, “You’ve returned the Department of Justice to its core mission.” He said with Bondi at the helm, the DOJ has strengthened the administration’s efforts to secure U.S. borders.
Lee then asked Bondi about progress toward “solving issues” regarding unauthorized migrants.
“He [Trump] ran on the promise of making America safe and closing our borders, and that’s what he did on day one,” Bondi said. “Our task forces are working hand in hand with Homeland Security, Director Patel… to make America safe again.”
“The surge of drugs into this country has been horrific over the last four years,” Bondi added. “These transnational gangs, it’s all about drugs and money, and they are destroying our country and destroying our children … under Donald Trump, it’s going to stop.”
10:50 a.m.: Department of Justice dismissals
Klobuchar asked Bondi about dismissals within the Department of Justice. Bondi said she would not discuss personnel matters.
However, Bondi commented about her current staff and how it’s working without a paycheck because “your party chose to shut down the government.”
10:45 a.m.: Assault weapons and political violence
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., addressed certain issues affecting her state. She spoke about recent violence against politicians and other political figures. She expressed her agreement with Bondi that there’s no place for that violence in this country.
Bondi expressed her sympathies to Klobuchar over the state representative who was killed in Minnesota earlier this year.
Klobuchar then addressed assault weapons. She asked Bondi if she supports potentially raising the age at which individuals can purchase an assault weapon to 21.
“We want to keep guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, while keeping them out of the hands of criminals and gangs,” Bondi said. However, she did not address raising the age limit.
10:40 a.m.: Partnership between local and federal law enforcement
Bondi praised the relationship between local and federal law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, where National Guard troops have been deployed. She said she has never seen a partnership like it before. Bondi also said she wished the governor of Illinois would allow a similar partnership in Chicago.
The comment comes after the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit against Bondi and the Trump administration over its efforts to deploy 300 troops to Chicago.
10:30 a.m.: Law enforcement pay
Sen. John Cornyn questioned Bondi about law enforcement pay, asking her to confirm that “many law enforcement agents live paycheck to paycheck.”
Bondi thanked Cornyn for bringing the issue up, saying federal law enforcement agents are working “tirelessly” to protect citizens and yet “the Democrats voted to shut down the government.”
10:20 a.m.: Homan investigation
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., questioned Bondi about the bribery investigation into Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan. Homan was reportedly caught on tape in 2024 taking a bag containing $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen.
Whitehouse asked Bondi where that $50,000 went after the investigation, and Bondi would not answer the question. She reiterated that the DOJ and FBI conducted a full investigation and found no wrongdoing on Homan’s part.
10:05 a.m.: Sanctuary cities
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., questioned Bondi about immigration in Chicago. He asked how many unauthorized migrants were in the city, and mentioned that Chicago is a sanctuary city.
While Bondi did not have a specific number of unauthorized migrants in the city, she said ICE has seen a 1000% increase in violence against agents since January.
Graham said that sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, are making it more difficult to address immigration concerns.
9:50 a.m.: National Guard deployments to US cities
When questioned about National Guard troop deployments and whether Bondi had spoken with the White House about the deployments, Bondi said she refused to discuss internal conversations with the White House.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who posed the original question, continued asking about the troop deployments.
Bondi then criticized Durbin, saying, “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.” She said if the committee won’t protect Chicago, “President Trump will.”
Durbin said her response is “what you’d expect from this administration,” noting that he posed a question and, rather than answering, she launched a personal attack against him.
Bondi responded, “If you were serious about protecting your people, you’d be asking this administration to help … We are there to make America safe and Illinois safe, whether or not you want us to,” Bondi said.
9:42 a.m.: Immigration enforcement
Bondi briefly spoke on immigration efforts saying, “Every day our FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. Marshals, working on a task force with Homeland Security, are out there keeping America safe … we will continue that work.”
9:36 a.m.: Department of Justice successes
Bondi shared a list of what she considers successes since taking office. She addressed arrests and gun recoveries in cities across the U.S., where the department has ordered National Guard troops be deployed.
She shared updates on the FBI’s recent efforts against violent crime and removing drugs from American cities.
Bondi also discussed lawsuits against the department since she took office, noting that they’ve seen over 20 successes in the Supreme Court, with “more to come.” She also added that the department has “never ignored a court order.”
9:34 a.m. ET: Bondi begins her testimony
Attorney General Bondi kicked off her testimony by recognizing the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, kicking off the war in Gaza.
Trump targets political foes
Back in September, Trump asked Bondi to target his political enemies in a post on Truth Social. He urged her to go after people he has grievances with, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff and others.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump posted. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Since Bondi took the helm in February, the department has dismissed prosecutors who handled Jan. 6, 2021, cases or investigated Trump, and has pushed out senior officials at the FBI.
The administration also removed Erik Siebert, Trump’s appointee to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Siebert previously expressed concerns over the Comey case and its strength.
Siebert was eventually replaced by White House aide and former personal attorney Lindsey Halligan, who continued with the Comey case.
Letter from former DOJ employees
On Monday, just one day before Bondi’s scheduled testimony, nearly 300 former DOJ employees released a letter describing her leadership as “appalling.”
“We call on Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities far more vigorously,” the former employees said. “Members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle must provide a meaningful check on the abuses we’re witnessing. And we call on all Americans — whose safety, prosperity, and rights depend on a strong DOJ — to speak out against its destruction.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
