Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly clashed with House Democrats during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing that devolved into shouting matches, reclaimed time, and accusations of political retaliation — all within the first hour.
From the opening gavel, Democrats signaled they intended to keep Bondi on a short leash. Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) warned in his opening statement that Democrats would aggressively reclaim their time during questioning, a promise they carried out with gusto throughout the hearing.
Multiple Democratic members interrupted Bondi mid-answer or cut her off entirely. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) repeatedly reclaimed her time as Bondi attempted to respond, preventing her from completing several answers, while continuing to speak for nearly 30 seconds after her own time had expired.
The most heated exchange came during questioning from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who accused the Department of Justice under Bondi of politically targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James. “It’s clear that you are going after her simply because she was holding President Trump accountable, and he wants to punish her,” Nadler charged, before abruptly pivoting in the final minute of his five-minute allotment to the Epstein files. His sole question: “How many perpetrators are you even investigating?”
Bondi pushed back forcefully, rejecting Nadler’s framing and insisting on answering on her own terms.
“I’m going to answer the question the way I want to answer the question,” Bondi said.
“No, you’re going to answer the question the way I asked it,” Nadler snapped, before declaring, “I’m reclaiming my time.”
As Bondi attempted to continue, Democrats interrupted again. At several points, Bondi dismissed the repeated disruptions as political theater. “Here he goes with their theatrics,” she said during one exchange.
Raskin then waded back in. “You can let her filibuster all you want … not on our time,” he said to Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). “I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started.”
“You don’t tell me,” Bondi shot back.
“Oh, I did tell you, because we saw what you did in the Senate,” Raskin shouted in response.
Bondi had one more up her sleeve, however, calling Raskin a “washed-up, loser lawyer.”
Jordan was repeatedly caught in the crossfire as he attempted to restore order, “When you ask a question the witness gets to [answer], you may not like the answer, but she gets to answer.”
That did not appease some in the room. “Mr. Chairman, she is embarrassing you, this is your committee, and she is embarrassing you,” an unidentified Democrat shouted as Jordan called for time during another of Bondi’s responses.
“I would remind the committee that last Congress, Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas was here numerous times and he wouldn’t answer our [Republicans] questions even when we sent them to him ahead of time, in writing. So … I think the Attorney General is doing just fine.” Jordan responded to the heckler.
In contrast, several Republican members later yielded their allotted questioning time to Bondi, allowing her to respond at length without the threat of interruption. Democrats framed their questioning around claims that Bondi is weaponizing federal law enforcement against political opponents and shielding information related to the Epstein investigation. Bondi rejected those premises outright, accusing committee Democrats of mischaracterizing DOJ actions and prioritizing spectacle over substance.
The confrontation underscored the increasingly hostile dynamic between Democratic leadership on the committee and the Trump administration’s Justice Department. Rather than producing detailed policy discussion, the hearing instead showcased the deep partisan divide and an increasingly combative oversight process.
“The American people are smarter than that,” Bondi said. “And they see through their theatrics.”
.png)
.png)
