After Pam Bondi, Will Trump Let Go Of Kash Patel And Tulsi Gabbard? Why The Firing Spree?

Last Updated:April 03, 2026, 10:30 IST

After US Attorney General Pam Bondi's ouster, the Trump administration is reportedly targeting Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard as part of a broader shakeup.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ouster has shown growing uncertainty over the future of top officials of the Trump administration, with reports indicating that FBI Director Kash Patel and National Intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard could be targeted next as part of a broader shake-up.

President Donald Trump fired Bondi from her role as attorney general, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also asked US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down and retire on an immediate basis. Bondi became the second Trump administration official in recent weeks to be removed from her post, after Kristi Noem was ousted as homeland security chief in March.

According to a report by The Atlantic, several people familiar with the White House’s plans said there are active discussions about others leaving the administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

However, the report added that the timing of any such move remains unclear and that Trump had “not yet made up his mind". Patel had been among the most closely watched officials in the Trump administration, whose private use of FBI jets to attend sporting events had created controversy.

Conservative commentator Kyle Seraphin claimed there was a “decent possibility" that Patel could be removed imminently as part of a “total reshuffle", citing two sources. “The question is why and my guess is that Trump wants to make it look like it’s his idea and not while he is under pressure," he said.

Tulsi Gabbard’s Future

Questions about Tulsi Gabbard’s future have also resurfaced after a contentious worldwide threat hearing on Capitol Hill, where Gabbard stopped short of condemning her former deputy, Joe Kent, who resigned in protest against Trump’s Iran war. Gabbard also contradicted several of Trump’s claims about the war, telling the Senate that Iran did not rebuild its uranium enrichment capability, which was one of the main reasons cited by Trump for the military offensive.

Trump has privately asked senior cabinet members about possibly replacing Gabbard, expressing frustration that she seemingly defended a former deputy who disagreed with his rationale for war with Iran, two people briefed on the discussions told The Guardian. However, he has not made any final discussions.

When asked about whether he still trusted Gabbard’s leadership, Trump gave a mixed response, saying, “Yeah, sure. I mean, she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve."

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, has faced challenges in her role overseeing US intelligence agencies. Officials say she has sometimes struggled to align her long-held scepticism of foreign military interventions with the administration’s more aggressive approach. Last year, Trump publicly contradicted Gabbard after she testified to lawmakers that Iran had not decided to build a nuclear bomb. “She’s wrong," he said, before authorising strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

What’s Driving Trump’s Firing Spree?

Trump had been averse to firing top officials in his second term after a tumultuous first term, where several top officials – including national security advisers, the Secretary of State, the White House Chief of Staff and other high-profile cabinet members – resigned or were forced out.

Trump had viewed firings as concessions to Democrats and has often ended up moving officials who he thinks could become a liability to other roles. However, his declining support after the Iran war has changed the political calculus and the odds of confirming replacements are only growing.

A new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll found that Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to 33% as a majority of Americans disagreed with his approach to war. One person close to the White House told The Atlantic that Trump was encouraged by the reaction to his decision to remove Noem and that it made him more likely to move ahead with Bondi.

News world After Pam Bondi, Will Trump Let Go Of Kash Patel And Tulsi Gabbard? Why The Purge?

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