DOJ Shake-Up: Bondi Removes JD Vance Ally Amid Internal Turmoil
Attorney General Pam Bondi has removed a senior Justice Department official after weeks of reported friction inside the administration, marking another decisive move by President Donald J. Trump’s leadership team to restore discipline and cohesion within the federal government.
Abigail Slater, who had been serving as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, was dismissed Thursday following mounting concerns about her conduct and strained working relationships within the Department of Justice.
Her departure reportedly followed repeated internal disputes in which she invoked the name of Vice President JD Vance during disagreements with senior officials — a move that, according to reports, generated frustration at multiple levels of the administration.
According to reporting by The Guardian, Slater’s exit came amid growing tension between her office and other cabinet officials. “‘It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role as AAG [assistant attorney general] for Antitrust today,” Slater wrote in a post on social media.
Sources indicate that Bondi had privately communicated to White House officials weeks earlier that her working relationship with Slater had deteriorated beyond repair.
Clash Over $14 Billion Tech Merger
The internal divide reportedly intensified over a proposed $14 billion merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks.
Slater pushed aggressively to block the deal, arguing it would concentrate power in the cloud infrastructure market and create what she described as a duopoly that could weaken competition.
Vice President Vance initially supported her position and, according to reports, advised aides that she should not face backlash for her antitrust stance. However, that support reportedly cooled as tensions with Bondi escalated — particularly after it became known that Slater frequently invoked the vice president’s name during internal disputes.
Slater’s ties to the Trump movement date back to the 2024 campaign, when she served as a senior adviser to Vance. Following President Trump’s decisive electoral victory and return to the White House, she was confirmed to her DOJ post with bipartisan backing from 78 senators.
Within conservative circles, some MAGA-aligned voices have portrayed Slater as a principled antitrust enforcer willing to challenge corporate power. But others argue that her tenure became increasingly defined by internal discord rather than disciplined execution of the administration’s priorities.
“Gail Slater was a long-time corporate lobbyist. With her own agenda. She made erratic decisions,” GOP attorney Mike Davis noted on the X platform.
“She went out of her way to knife too many Trump admin colleagues. She leaked, lied, disobeyed, and subverted. She got fired. She’s not the victim,” he added.
Intelligence Concerns Surface
Complicating matters further, Slater had reportedly assured Bondi last year that U.S. intelligence agencies had not raised objections to her effort to block the Hewlett Packard Enterprise–Juniper Networks deal.
However, CIA Director John Ratcliffe later informed Bondi that preventing the merger could present national security risks and expressed concern that he had not been adequately consulted during the review process.
That revelation reportedly prompted the attorney general to question whether Slater had fully represented the intelligence community’s position during key discussions about the transaction.
Tensions escalated further after Bondi denied Slater permission to attend a Paris conference. Despite the denial, Slater reportedly attended anyway, leading Bondi to cancel her government-issued credit cards, according to The Guardian.
Pattern of Internal Discipline
Bondi’s action follows other disciplinary measures within the DOJ aimed at maintaining professionalism and accountability.
In August, Bondi dismissed DOJ paralegal Elizabeth Baxter after she admitted making an obscene gesture toward a National Guard member and stating, “F—k the National Guard,” according to reports. Another paralegal in the same building was previously seen in a viral video allegedly throwing a Subway sandwich at a Border Protection officer, according to the New York Post.
These episodes underscore a broader effort within President Trump’s second-term administration to ensure that federal employees conduct themselves in a manner consistent with public service, respect for law enforcement, and national security priorities.
Slater’s removal highlights the delicate balance within the administration between aggressive antitrust enforcement and broader economic and national security considerations. For Attorney General Bondi, the decision signals a clear message: internal unity and disciplined execution come first.