AG Pam Bondi directs DOJ to pause federal funding to sanctuary cities

On Wednesday, newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Department of Justice to halt federal funding to sanctuary cities.

Bondi was sworn in on Wednesday morning, and on her first day leading the DOJ, she issued several key directives.

'Will be subject to discipline and potentially termination.'

A memo obtained by Fox News Digital outlined Bondi's actions, including steps to end the nation's illegal immigration crisis.

She called on the DOJ to pause all federal funding to sanctuary cities and review funding agreements with nongovernmental organizations that provide services to illegal aliens.

Bondi instructed the agency to investigate sanctuary jurisdictions that have hindered Immigration and Customs Enforcement's efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants. The DOJ's litigating components were directed to seek prosecution when necessary.

The Justice Department was told to work with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to "completely eliminate" cartel threats, Fox News Digital reported.

Bondi's strategy for addressing transnational criminal organizations includes shifting law enforcement resources toward foundationally dismantling the groups instead of focusing its efforts on detaining low-level offenders.

She pledged to "further empower[] and elevate[]" Joint Task Force Vulcan and Joint Task Force Alpha, coordinated DOJ efforts to eliminate MS-13 and combat human trafficking. According to the memo, Vulcan will be expanded to target members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Bondi is also moving quickly to address the fentanyl crisis, calling on the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy to explore legislative reforms that would target the equipment used to create illicit pills.

The AG's memo stated that a DOJ attorney who "declines to sign a brief, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Justice Department's mission will be subject to discipline and potentially termination."

It read that the responsibilities of the DOJ attorneys include "aggressively enforcing criminal laws passed by Congress, but also vigorously defending presidential policies and actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges."

"The discretion afforded Justice Department attorneys with respect to those responsibilities does not include latitude to substitute their personal political views or judgments for those that prevailed in the election," the memo added. "When Justice Department attorneys refuse to faithfully carry out their role by, for example, refusing to advance good-faith arguments or declining to sign briefs, it undermines the constitutional order and deprives the president of the benefit of his lawyers."

Bondi ended the federal ban on the death penalty. She asked that DOJ prosecutors seek the death penalty when appropriate and specifically for those convicted of violent drug trafficking offenses.

The agency was asked to "re-evaluate instances of the prior administration electing not to seek the death penalty."

Fox News Digital reported that Bondi's day-one directives also addressed combatting the weaponization of the legal system by establishing a "Weaponization Working Group," which would be tasked with identifying instances of "politicized justice."

The group will first evaluate the investigations into President Donald Trump conducted by former special counsel Jack Smith, along with similar probes led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!