DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle set to resign and return home in the coming weeks
Attorney General Pam Bondi is arguably already on thin ice with President Donald Trump and his supporters, and her admittedly hard job likely just became even more difficult.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Bondi will soon be losing one of her most senior aides, Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle, who will be exiting the Justice Department within the coming weeks, according to the Daily Caller.
Mizelle, who was described as a "key ally" of one of President Donald Trump's closest senior advisers, oversaw the DOJ's Civil Division and Civil Rights Division, in addition to running Bondi's office, and reportedly played a critical role in implementing aspects of the president's policy agenda.
Leaving the DOJ, but not done working
Axios reported on Tuesday that Mizelle will depart from his third-highest-ranked position at the DOJ "in the next few weeks" so that he can spend more time with his family in Tampa, Florida, where his wife, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, serves as a U.S. district judge.
However, he informed the outlet that he intends to continue working to support President Trump's policy agenda, with a particular focus on "exposing the left-wing groups responsible for violence across America."
Mizelle, who served in the DOJ in Trump's first term, was named by the president to be the attorney general's chief of staff in December during the transition period, and he hit the ground running on Day One in his dual role as the chief of staff and as an acting associate attorney general.
Over the past eight months, he has played a key role in reversing many of the prior Biden administration's policies and firing career officials who stood in the way of implementing Trump's agenda.
He also deserves some credit for the 21 Supreme Court victories that the second Trump administration has achieved thus far, in many cases overturning injunctions imposed by liberal district court judges to block various new policies from the president.
Colleagues sad to see him go
Axios reported that Mizelle is a "key ally" of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who is arguably one of President Trump's closest senior advisors.
Miller told the outlet of his friend, "Chad Mizelle has been instrumental in delivering on President Trump's historic America First Agenda and producing momentous legal victories over and over again."
Axios also obtained a complimentary statement from Attorney General Bondi, who said that Mizelle "served this Department with professionalism, sound judgment, and dedication."
"As Chief of Staff, Chad played a central role in coordinating the Department's operations, ensuring its resources were aligned and our efforts were carried out with integrity and efficiency," she added. "His counsel strengthened our work to advance justice and protect the American people. I am grateful for his service and friendship."
Likewise, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told the outlet, "Chad's tenure at the Department has been marked by exceptional leadership and dedication to the Department."
"He provided Attorney General Bondi and all of us with outstanding counsel, and his steady hand helped guide our work," the DOJ's Number Two man added. "Chad played a key role in advancing the President's America First agenda here at the Department, and his efforts strengthened our mission to protect the American people."