Trump govt fires ATF general counsel Pamela Hicks in broader effort to purge all Biden-era appointments

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday fired Pamela Hicks, Chief Counsel of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The development comes days after US President Donald Trump ordered the removal of all remaining Biden-era US Attorneys.

Pamela Hicks confirmed her exit from ATF in a Linkedin post and said, “I was served official notice from the Attorney General of the United States that I was being removed from my position as the Chief Counsel of ATF and my employment with the Department of Justice terminated.”

Pamela Hicks' will leave the department after completing her 28 years of service. She has also served as the attorney for the Department of Justice.

“Serving as ATF Chief Counsel has been the highest honor of my career and working with the people at ATF and throughout the Department has been a pleasure. I thank my colleagues for their friendship and partnership over the years,” Hicks further said in her social media post.

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday lashed out at the Biden government for politicising the Department of Justice and said that the DOJ is “worse” than she had expected, reported ABC News.

Donald Trump orders exit of Biden-era attorneys’ immediately’

Last week, Donald Trump ordered the exit of all remaining Biden-era US attorneys, a common move when a new administration takes over.

In a social media post, Donald Trump said that the “Department of Justice has been politicised like never before.”

He also underlined the importance of “clean house” and restoring confidence in the justice system. While mentioning the importance of a fair justice system for America’s “golden age”, Donald Trump said that his action would mark a new era of fairness in the US legal system.

“Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ US Attorneys. We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System — THAT BEGINS TODAY!,” Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.