Matthew Miller, former spokesman for the U.S. Department of State during the Biden administration, responded to President Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, writing: “I hope GOP Senators are paying close attention to Bondi’s stonewalling. Executive branch oversight is a delicate balance based on precedent, and by letting her get away with refusing to provide basic answers, they are setting up future Democratic AG’s to basically ignore them.”
Miller was responding Bondi’s unwavering disdain for Senators who challenged various Trump administration positions during the oversight hearing. The ex-State Department official warned that those currently in power, who allow Bondi to largely evade legally mandated congressional oversight, will pay a heavy price for their acquiescence when there is a shift in majority party power dynamics.
I hope GOP Senators are paying close attention to Bondi’s stonewalling. Executive branch oversight is a delicate balance based on precedent, and by letting her get away with refusing to provide basic answers, they are setting up future Democratic AG’s to basically ignore them.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) October 7, 2025
The Attorney General consistently deflected questions and went into attack mode when asked by Democrats about a number of topics, including the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey and the failure of the DOJ to release the Epstein files, which even some notable MAGA Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have demanded.
One representative example of Bondi’s deflection tactic occurred when Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the Attorney General about the Trump administration’s legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops to blue states, including to Illinois despite the wishes of the state’s Democratic Governor JB Pritzker. Bondi replied to Durbin dismissively, saying: “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.”
[Bondi’s dismissive tone, especially notable in her Durbin response, was an example of a common MAGA strategy wherein criticism of the President is devalued as the result of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS), which holds that hatred of the President, not legitimate policy differences, drives opposition to his actions.]
Sen. DURBIN: Were you consulted by the White House before they deployed National Guard troops to cities like Chicago?
Bondi: I’m not going to discuss.
Durbin: Even if you talked with them?
Bondi: I’m not going to discuss.
Durbin: Why do you want to keep this secret? pic.twitter.com/w1A9Jp6lTO
— Senate Judiciary Democrats
(@JudiciaryDems) October 7, 2025
It’s not the first time Miller has criticized Trump’s Department of Justice. When Comey was indicted by Bondi in September, Miller wrote: “The Justice Department we have long known is dead. As in many authoritarian states, it now exists as an arm of the government to punish the president’s enemies, regardless of the law. A tragedy for the country with lasting implications, even if this case is dismissed.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi verbally attacks U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) for simply asking why President Donald Trump is sending National Guard troops to Illinois.
DURBIN: “Why do you want to keep the secret? The American people don’t know the rationale behind the deployment of… pic.twitter.com/gaIB2720Es
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 7, 2025