Inside the battle to be Trump’s next attorney general

Veterans of Trump's past legal fights are jockeying for the top spot.

From left: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. | Illustration by Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO (source images via Francis Chung/POLITICO and Getty)

There’s a fierce competition brewing for control of President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.

Pam Bondi’s ouster has uncorked long-simmering disputes among powerhouse lawyers who spent years in the trenches for Trump and his allies. Those battles forged allegiances that are now driving the backroom politicking to lead a department already in turmoil, hemorrhaging veteran prosecutors and facing credibility concerns in the courts.

It’s not just about who will be the next attorney general. It’s also a referendum on which of the many factions within Trump’s uneasy coalition will emerge as the dominant force inside the most scrutinized Cabinet department of his second term. Here’s a look at the emerging dynamics in the fight for control of Trump’s DOJ:

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