Two Southern California Democrats are calling on the Florida Bar to investigate U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for what they alleged could be serious violations of legal ethics.
In a letter sent Wednesday, April 30, Reps. Dave Min, D-Irvine, and Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, alleged that Bondi approved legally questionable decisions at the Justice Department, including dropping a federal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams and overseeing the deportation of Venezuelan nationals under disputed legal grounds.
A former Florida attorney general who is licensed to practice in Florida, Bondi is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and has become one of the most vocal champions of his political agenda, including his hardline stance on deporting illegal immigrants.
For Min and Levin, the letter marks a public move by House members from closely contested districts to directly challenge actions taken by the Trump administration.
One expert said the lawmakers may be trying to respond to both base voters and independents who are growing more critical of Trump and his administration.
“As Trump’s poll numbers drop, disaffected swing voters who supported him in November are having second thoughts,” said Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley. “This is a way for Democrats to rally their base and at the same time demonstrate to those voters who are losing patience with the president.”
Trump’s approval ratings have dropped as he recently marked his 100th day in office. An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,439 adults, conducted April 21–23, found that the decline is mainly due to concerns about his handling of the economy and tariffs.
The lawmakers’ six-page letter, which was first shared with Politico, is addressed to the Florida Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel and outlines what the lawmakers describe as “numerous and substantial grounds” for the Bar to investigate Bondi. Both lawmakers are attorneys themselves.
According to the letter, the Justice Department dropped a corruption case against Adams, a Democrat who is running for reelection as an independent, earlier this year after his attorneys allegedly agreed he would support parts of Trump’s immigration policy. Prosecutors reportedly objected to the move and warned that it resembled a quid pro quo, or a favor granted in exchange for something else.
The Justice Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Min and Levin also raised concerns about how the Justice Department, under Bondi’s leadership, handled a court case over the deportation of Venezuelan nationals.
The Trump administration has argued that the president has broad authority under the Alien Enemies Act — an 18th-century wartime law — to remove individuals without judicial review or due process. On March 15, a federal judge ordered that any planes already in the air carrying deportees be turned back to the U.S., but the administration did not comply with the judge’s order, arguing that because the planes were already over international waters, the court no longer had the power to stop the deportations.
Florida Bar spokesperson Jennifer Krell Davis said the Bar received the letter but declined to comment further.
Min, who represents California’s 47th Congressional District, said his constituents are deeply concerned about what they see as “lawlessness” in the federal government.
“At my recent town hall, with over 1,500 of my constituents, and by phone and mail, my constituents have shared their deep concerns about the overreach and lawlessness shown by the Trump administration,” Min said. “As their representative, I am standing up for them by speaking out against the Trump administration’s attacks on law and order. It’s my job to bring their voice to Washington.”
Min’s district includes Irvine, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and other parts of coastal Orange County.
Min won the open seat race in 2024 by a narrow margin in one of the most politically competitive districts in the country. According to the latest report by California’s secretary of state, registered Republicans make up 35.13% of voters in the district, while Democrats account for 34.43% and voters with no party preference make up 24.11%.
Levin, who represents California’s 49th District, held onto his seat in 2024 with a somewhat wider margin. His district includes parts of northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. According to the secretary of state’s data, 35.78% of voters in the district are registered Democrats, 33.99% are Republicans and 22.14% have no party preference.
“Bondi, like all attorneys, including myself and Rep. Min, took an ethics exam and pledged allegiance to the Constitution,” Levin said. “Unfortunately, her actions are negatively impacting Americans. The DOJ is ignoring the rule of law by deporting legally protected residents, including my own constituents.”
The two lawmakers said Bondi’s actions in these cases may violate multiple rules of professional conduct, including those related to disobeying court orders.
Christian Grose, a political science professor and pollster at USC who studies electoral behavior, said the move likely carries little political risk for Min or Levin and could help them consolidate Democratic support early in the election cycle.
“They’re going to probably make some core Republicans in the district mad, but those voters probably aren’t voting for them,” Grose said. “I don’t know if this issue this far out from the election is on the radar of those handfuls of swing voters who will determine the outcome.”
Grose added that the willingness of swing district Democrats to take a direct public stance reflects Trump’s declining appeal among moderate voters.
It’s a “barometer of Trump’s popularity,” he said.
Even when Trump’s approval ratings were stronger, “a lot of swing voters had doubts about the way he and his team conducted themselves,” Schnur said.
“As those voters lose confidence in Trump’s economic agenda, they are more willing to hear criticism about the way his administration is run,” he said.