But she sees her role as that of a surrogate, a faithful executor and high-volume messenger, compelled to cede ground to empowered players in the West Wing, and in her own building, who exercise significant authority that rivals her own, according to interviews with 20 current and former officials.
“The decisions are being made at the White House, and then they’re being pushed down to the Department of Justice, which is very, very atypical,” said Elizabeth Oyer, the department’s former top pardon lawyer who was fired after refusing
to grant gun ownership rights to the actor Mel Gibson.
“It feels like she is just performing a part,” Ms. Oyer said of Ms. Bondi. “She is like an actor, in a way.”
If there is a script, it has come in the form of prescriptive executive orders and memos from the White House. The agenda has largely been set by Mr. Trump, his adviser Stephen Miller and other officials — hashing out details with two former criminal defense lawyers for Mr. Trump who run day-to-day operations in the department and report to the attorney general.