It’s Friday, April 3. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Nellie is taking a week off from TGIF. She’ll be back next Friday and promises to be extra funny to make up for it.
Today: Ahead of the Final Four this weekend, Bruce Pearl on what makes college basketball great. A reformed climate activist says yes to oil. Aaron MacLean and Rafaela Siewert discuss Iran, nukes, and regime change. Our editors’ picks. And much more.
But first: Eli Lake on Pam Bondi’s abrupt exit.
President Donald Trump is reorganizing his cabinet just in time for spring cleaning. After weeks of rumors, he removed Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday afternoon. It’s Trump’s second high-profile firing in the past month, following his removal of Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. Unlike Noem, who landed with a “special envoy” role, Bondi won’t get to stick around in the executive branch. Instead she’ll take a “much needed and important new job in the private sector,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
Bondi seemed to keep to one simple rule during her time in office: Do exactly as Trump says. When the president named a list of enemies to target—including former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James—Bondi sprang into action, making sure charges were filed on each in just over a month. While past attorneys general have stressed their independence, Bondi looked happy to play the loyalist.
That may have been what Trump wanted, but not what he needed, as Eli Lake explains. Bondi’s efforts to please Trump ended up backfiring, for the administration and for her. Flawed lawsuits against universities. Prosecutors who were improperly appointed, then removed by judges. And perhaps the biggest scandal of Trump’s term: the mishandling of the Epstein files. Read Eli on how Bondi’s blunders led to this point—and what comes next.
—Mene Ukueberuwa
A former Auburn Tigers head coach with over 40 years in college basketball, Bruce Pearl knows more about March Madness than most. Ahead of the Final Four, he reflects on why the tournament captivates the country year after year. His view? The tournament showcases the qualities America craves: discipline, accountability, teamwork, and good sportsmanship.
Nicole Daedone, the founder of the sexual wellness group OneTaste, was sentenced to nine years for a forced labor conspiracy conviction this week. The problem, writes Billy Binion, is that the only coercion OneTaste’s participants experienced was a fear of getting kicked out. Billy explains how her prosecution sets a precedent that could criminalize just about any insular and socially disfavored group, from so-called sex cults to the Amish.
President Trump’s speech on Wednesday night didn’t deliver the promises of a quick end to the Iran war that some had expected. Rafaela Siewert interviewed columnist Aaron MacLean to help unpack what might happen next.
After a decade walking American cities and five years walking cities abroad, Chris Arnade argues that the U.S. has a uniquely high tolerance for public disorder, and that it’s a public policy choice, not an inevitability. People who are severely mentally ill or addicted and unable to function in public spaces, he writes, should be institutionalized and treated, rather than left to suffer in the streets.
“I spent years amplifying a movement that treated fossil fuels as the enemy and net-zero as the solution,” writes Lucy Biggers, The Free Press’s head of social media—and a former climate activist. Oil, coal, and natural gas still make up 86 percent of the world’s energy sources. The Strait of Hormuz closure is just a hint of the kind of energy crisis climate zealots would happily bring on.
EDITORS’ PICKS
America is on its way to the moon—for the first time in 50 years. On Wednesday in Cape Canaveral, Frannie Block spent an afternoon with a crowd of eager Americans watching the launch of Artemis II, the first NASA space crew to travel toward the moon since the Apollo missions—and the mood was electric. “This is American pride,” said one man wearing swim trunks and no shirt. Read Frannie’s dispatch from America’s Space Coast.
Meanwhile, down on Earth, Niall Ferguson wrote about the Iran war, and how the U.S. must avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Britain tried to seize the Suez Canal in 1956, then turned tail and backed down. The Iran war is winnable, but if President Trump decides to cut and run, the result could be a global hit to U.S. power, just as Britain experienced 70 years ago.
In California, the gubernatorial race has taken a curious rightward turn with two GOP candidates leading the polls. The Golden State’s June 2 “jungle primary ” is fast approaching, in which the top two vote-getters, irrespective of party, proceed to the general election. Will Democrats get it together in time? Peter Savodnik dug into a race in which both parties have fielded awful candidates, and weighed the GOP’s chances of turning the state red.
For Jews all over the world, this Passover might feel a little heavier than usual. For the last few years, Jews have seen a rising tide of antisemitism met with platitudes from politicians. But British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is not one of those politicians. This week, she wrote an open letter to Jews in the UK: “Do not pack up your suitcases and leave,” Kemi writes. “Britain is your home.”
And in case you missed it, read Olivia Reingold’s deeply personal essay on her return to Judaism. Since October 7, she’s found herself in some of the most hostile spaces imaginable to Jews. This week, she reflects on faith, tradition, and how her work for The Free Press led her back to her roots.
Look out for a special Easter edition of The Weekend Press this Saturday, including Will Rahn on the case for normie Catholicism, Joe Nocera on JFK’s moon landing speech, and Larissa Phillips on the hardest part of farm life—taking lambs to the slaughter.
Mane Ukueberuwa is an accomplished journalist, having served for years on the Wall Street Journal editorial board. Therefore, I am surprised he wrote that past attorneys general have consistently maintained an M.O. of independence.
Nonsense; Obama’s AG Eric Holder specifically described himself as Obama’s “wingman.” He was probably the most partisan hack ever to serve in that position.
Here's my Bondi take:
A FL AG tasked with Federal prosecutions vs rogue judges and a 4-2-3 SCOTUS AND a flaccid appendage aka the Leftist Media.
She didn't know what she was up against.