Attorney General Pam Bondi was brought before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11 to testify about her handling of recent controversies, including the Epstein files, the deaths of two protestors by federal agents and her department’s focus on President Donald Trump’s adversaries.

The hearing in the committee was remarkably tense and, at certain points, devolved into a shouting match between Bondi and the representative she was talking to. 

She called Republican Rep. Thomas Massie a “failed politician” and yelled at Democratic Rep. Jerrold “Jerry” Nadler for what she called “theatrics.”

The three statements have one thing in common: they were not unprompted insults but rather a response to accusations of the Department of Justice’s mishandling of its cases. 

The statements are reminiscent of Trump’s way of handling his political foes and — by extension — reflects his administration’s strategy of deflecting tough questions and avoiding accountability.

Bondi did the same during the hearing.

“The Dow is over 50,000 right now, the S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records, Americans’ 401(k)s and retirement savings are booming,” Bondi retorted. “That’s what we should be talking about.”

The idea is to hang onto one good phrase instead of spending time addressing criticism. Deflect from the subject of criticism: the DOJ.

Now compare Bondi’s words to Trump’s Truth Social post in July 2025. 

“I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” Trump said.

Bondi’s and Trump’s statements are remarkably similar in both content and objective. There is a dismissal of the severity of the context, an attack on the accusers and a pivot to another topic.

Bondi’s Epstein hearing was unprofessional. 

When prompted to apologize to a live panel of Epstein victims, she paused before refusing to “get in the gutter” with Rep. Pramila Jayapal. 

But while her avoidance of questions is crass — especially on a topic like the Epstein files — it is nothing new for the presidency, as the playbook comes straight from the president himself.

During her hearing, Bondi also taunted Rep. Jamie Raskin. 

“You don’t tell me anything, you washed-up, loser lawyer,” Bondi said. “You’re not even a lawyer.”

Compare this to a statement from Trump directed at CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins.

“You are so bad,” Trump said. “You know, you are the worst reporter. No wonder. CNN has no ratings because of people like you.”

The pattern is concerning and highlights the administration’s relationship with those not overtly loyal to it. 

While those close to the administration receive its support, anyone who suggests it has made a mistake is met with an instant lash out.

It is possible to see this as a personal fault. However, the consistency of the Trump administration in its strategy of dealing with outsiders suggests that its political theater is calculated and coordinated. 

Trump has been defined by his aggressive stance toward his political foes since his first term and shows no signs of stopping.

There is little reason to believe that these strategies will change any time soon. Bondi’s Epstein hearing has produced little substance in the face of her uncooperativeness.

The attorney general’s hearing seems like an isolated lapse in decorum. 

However, her behavior, when analyzed in the context of the larger Trump administration, is better understood as part of a coordinated strategy of unaccountability and confrontation.