Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told House investigators she handed off oversight of the troubled release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to her deputy, Todd Blanche, now President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Justice, according to a transcript the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released Thursday.

The disclosure came a day after Trump said he would formally nominate Blanche, sharpening a confirmation fight already brewing on Capitol Hill.

In her opening statement to the panel on May 29, Bondi told lawmakers: "I did not lead every aspect of this effort nor conduct that document review myself. I delegated that oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche."

She told members Blanche was the point person on training reviewers, making privilege determinations, and deciding what to withhold, and according to CNN and The Hill, she said he "was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files."

The timing is awkward for Blanche.

Trump announced Wednesday night he intended to nominate his former personal attorney to the Attorney General post permanently.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said it was "hard to say" whether Blanche could get through, and Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, both Judiciary Committee members, said they were undecided.

The Epstein file release has dogged the department for months.

Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Nov. 19, requiring the DOJ to publish nearly all unclassified materials within 30 days.

The department says it has published roughly 3 million pages, but reviewers botched redactions that exposed victims' identities, and Democrats say millions of pages remain withheld.

Bondi was subpoenaed in March after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., forced a 24-19 committee vote, joined by GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Michael Cloud of Texas, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

After Trump fired her in April, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., downgraded her appearance to an unsworn, unrecorded transcribed interview.

Bondi declined to discuss her conversations with Trump, including a reported exchange in which she told him his name appeared in the files.

Harmeet Dhillon, head of DOJ's Civil Rights Division, attended the interview with Comer and cut off questions about White House communications on the grounds of privilege.

Bondi also referred questions about the Southern District of New York's Epstein work to Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and said she could not recall who managed the unsigned July 2025 DOJ-FBI memo declaring there was no Epstein "client list," a finding that helped trigger the transparency law.

Oversight Committee Democrats said the transcript makes Blanche's testimony unavoidable and signaled they could force a committee vote to subpoena him, a step that could place added pressure on his confirmation process.