Opinion: Patricia Johnson

In accordance with the United States Constitution there are three branches of Government in the United States, each having their own separate set of powers.  Their functions are spelled out in the first sentence, in the first three Articles of the Constitution as follows:

United States Constitution, Article I §1 

   “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

United States Constitution, Article II §1

      “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

United States Constitution, Article III §1

     “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”  

Constitution of the United States  (from Senate.gov)

Preamble   Article I   Article II   Article III   Article IV   Article V   Article VI Article VII AMENDMENTS   

In simple terms, Congress is authorized to make the laws, the President is authorized to execute the laws made by Congress, and the Supreme Court is authorized to judge the laws.

What is interesting is the order of the core functions.   The very first listing is the Congress, not the President, which makes sense.  Our current Congress is made up of 535 individuals, 435 Members of the House and 100 Members of the Senate.  These 535 individuals were elected by “we the people” to make laws based on what the majority of voting individuals wanted in their respective districts.

In addition to making laws, our Congress is also responsible for oversight.  The following statement is from the Congressional  Oversight Manual:

“Congress’s lawmaking role does not end when it passes legislation. Oversight is fundamental to make sure that laws are working as intended and are being administered in an effective, efficient, and economical manner. The information that oversight can bring to Congress is essential as the body grapples with the complexities of American government and society.”

On February 11, 2025, Attorney General Pamela Bondi was called on to testify before the full Committee on the Judiciary at a hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice. The Congressional hearing was entitled “Oversight of the Department of Justice” and a video of the hearing follows the bottom of the page. 

Bondi’s testimony left more than a little bit to be desired.  Her attitude towards the majority of Democratic members asking questions could only be described as unnecessarily rude and arrogant.

When you testify at a congressional hearing you are required to testify, in her case under oath, to the questions asked to you by the various members of Congress.  The entire goal of the hearing is to obtain answers to questions.

Instead of answering the questions asked, Bondi would continually bring up what was done in former administrations, go on and on about how President Trump is doing such an incredible job, and/or criticize the Democratic members for doing their job. Very few questions posed were answered by the Attorney General.  The entire hearing could probably be described as a total waste of time for Congressional members.

Bondi has described Americans as ‘domestic terrorists’ that attempt to impede ICE employees from doing their job which is exactly what she did.  It was her job as the head of the Department of Justice to answer the questions asked of her honestly and truthfully during the hearing, yet she did everything she could possibly do to avoid answering.  Her lack of understanding about how an oversight hearing is supposed to work is more than sufficient evidence to call for her resignation.  Her lack of manners toward the men and women attempting to do their job is unacceptable.

You may judge for yourself by listening to the following video.

Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice

Please call or write your member (s) of Congress to express your thoughts about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance at the hearing and/or any other subject on your mind.  Our officials don’t know our thoughts unless we tell them.

Representatives  Listed by State

Senators  Listed alphabetically

If you don’t know the names of your members of Congress, use the drop down menu at the top of the Representatives page.

© 2026 Patricia Johnson