{"id":50340,"date":"2026-04-03T18:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/03\/trump-eyes-next-attorney-general-as-key-gop-senator-signals-potential-roadblock\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T18:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:24:18","slug":"trump-eyes-next-attorney-general-as-key-gop-senator-signals-potential-roadblock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/03\/trump-eyes-next-attorney-general-as-key-gop-senator-signals-potential-roadblock\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump eyes next attorney general as key GOP senator signals potential roadblock"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Attorney General Pam Bondi tees up another whirlwind confirmation in the Senate, and some in the upper chamber are already drawing lines in the sand.<\/p>\n

The Senate confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin last month after a sprint to elevate him from lawmaker to Cabinet official following Kristi Noem\u2019s firing. Lawmakers will again be tasked with confirming Bondi\u2019s replacement in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

While Trump has selected Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) on an interim basis, speculation is swirling over who he will tap as the next attorney general.<\/p>\n

PAM BONDI ALREADY FIRED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, CABINET OFFICIAL TEED UP AS REPLACEMENT: SOURCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Whoever he picks will have to go through the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in an interview with CNN that the next nominee must align with his views on the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

“The threshold for somebody following Pam Bondi ends the moment I hear they say one thing that excused the events of January 6,” Tillis said. “I\u2019ve been very clear on that. So I hope whoever they have in mind to follow General Bondi is very clear-eyed about my position on January 6.”<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s why I didn\u2019t support two other nominees who were coming through the Judiciary Committee, and I won\u2019t support any nominee who thinks any element of January 6 was excusable,” he continued.<\/p>\n

MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Tillis will have a key vote on the Republican-led panel that could make or break any nominee\u2019s chances of reaching a full Senate vote. Last year, he notably tanked Trump\u2019s pick for top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., Ed Martin, over his comments on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n

Trump is reportedly eyeing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for the job, but whether he taps another sitting senator remains an open question.<\/p>\n

Some lawmakers in the upper chamber are reportedly pushing for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to get the job. But Lee \u2014 who is pushing for the Senate to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act \u2014 doesn\u2019t appear keen on the idea.<\/p>\n

BONDI OUSTER IGNITES BIPARTISAN UPROAR: ‘PARTISAN, PETULANT, POLITICAL HACK’<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“I\u2019m not going anywhere,” Lee said on X.<\/p>\n

Then there is Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who was previously under consideration for the job when Trump won in 2024.<\/p>\n

Schmitt has a strong relationship with the president that dates back to his first campaign and has developed into regular invitations to join Trump for rounds of golf. But he turned down the job, opting to stay in the Senate after just winning his seat in 2022.<\/p>\n

He confirmed his decision on X at the time, saying he was “just getting started” in the Senate.<\/p>\n

“We need America First fighters who don\u2019t just say they support the agenda but are willing to stand in the breach and actually fight for it \u2014 and for the hopes and dreams of the American people,” Schmitt said. “I\u2019m ready to roll up my sleeves and be a champion for President Trump in the Senate.”<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Attorney General Pam Bondi tees up another whirlwind confirmation in the Senate, and some in the upper chamber are already drawing lines in the sand. The Senate confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin last month after a sprint to elevate him from lawmaker to Cabinet official <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/principleisapromise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}