Bondi grilled on Trump domestic terrorism order aimed at left wing groups
Bondi grilled on Trump domestic terrorism order aimed at left wing groups
01:23
Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer a lawmaker’s yes-or-no questions about the work the Justice Department is doing to comply with President Donald Trump’s controversial “domestic terrorism” order that takes aim at left-wing groups.
Rep. Mary Scanlon noted that Trump’s September 25, 2025 order has been criticized for being “designed to silence those who disagree with the administration.”
The Pennsylvania Democrat pointed to a command in the executive order that the Justice Department submit to Trump and White House aide Stephen Miller a list of groups that could meet the definition of a domestic terrorist group. She asked Bondi whether the department had compiled the list, requesting a yes or no response.
Bondi indicated she would not answer with a yes or no, attempting to pivot to a response about antifa, and Scanlon quickly moved on.
She asked if Bondi would commit to providing to the committee any list of organizations the department was recommending for domestic terrorism designations.
“I’m not going to commit to anything to you, because you won’t let me answer questions,” Bondi said.
Trump’s order said it was targeting violent “anti-facism” movements, which it described in broad terms as “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
Scanlon noted that the department is legally required to notify Congress when it designates a group as a foreign terrorism organization.
“Your position seems to be that if you falsely designated American or an American organization as a terrorist group, there’s nothing they can do about it.” she said. “I think we get it. You don’t want to answer the question.”
“No, you don’t get anything,” Bondi shot back.