The first attorney general, Edmund Randolph, was President George Washington’s confidant and close political ally. Between then and now, presidents have, from time to time, appointed friends and supporters to be attorneys general. They even chose campaign managers or their party’s national chairperson to be attorney general of the United States.

Although the department historically has insisted on remaining independent of the White House, Bondi made clear that she was working to overhaul a DOJ that Trump has insisted is both biased against him and against political conservatives in general.