President Donald Trump announces that Attorney General Pam Bondi is out, and Florida lawmakers could take up property taxes in April. 


Trump says Pam Bondi, loyalist who oversaw Justice Department upheaval, out as attorney general

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.

The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trump’s demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.

The former Florida attorney general came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.

Bondi ushered in a period of intense turmoil at the department that included the firings of career prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and the resignations of hundreds of other employees. Her departure continues a trend of Justice Department upheaval that has defined Trump’s presidency as multiple attorneys general across his two terms have either been pushed out or resigned after proving unwilling or unable to meet his demands for the position.

Bondi rejected accusations that she politicized the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution’s credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration with two federal criminal cases against Trump. Bondi’s defenders have said she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.

Florida lawmakers could take up property taxes in April

At least one Florida lawmaker is proposing a new plan to eliminate property tax in the state. This new initiative comes after months of gridlock in Tallahassee.

The Florida GOP wants to reduce, maybe even eliminate property taxes. The problem is that so far, they haven’t agreed on when and more importantly how to do it.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has promised voters they’ll get to vote this year to reduce property taxes in Florida.

“This state will be in better hands this November when we get that constitutional amendment on the ballot. And people start seeing their property tax bill being reduced here in the state of Florida,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said.

In fact, after more than a year of deliberation, GOP leaders insist they’ll put pen to paper in April.

“Probably property tax in April. You could do that really a lot later if you wanted to. But I think that’s probably when that will be,” DeSantis said.

However, it seems there’s growing skepticism in the state capitol. One lawmaker is now spearheading a citizens initiative.

“For many people who are struggling with affordability right now, our promise of property tax relief feels like the biggest April fool’s joke of the century,” State Rep. Ryan Chamberlin said.

To get it on the 2028 ballot, an initiative will need more than 880,000 signatures. Then, at least 60 percent voter approval.

“I’m here because I firmly believe that if we want to force our elected officials and legislature to get this done, we’ve got to take the issue straight to the people,” Chamberlin said.

Still, Florida Democrats remain uncertain. Property taxes fund local services like roads and police.

“I think a lot of people are expecting a big payday. The problem is we don’t have an alternative funding source to go to backfill,” State Rep. Allison Tant said.

DeSantis has promised for months that his staff would put out a plan. That plan hasn’t been published. Meanwhile, the Florida House proposed several plans. None of them were approved by either DeSantis or the state Senate.