Washington D.C. – Florida’s former Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly expressed amusement at a recent Saturday Night Live sketch parodying her, while a high-ranking Department of Homeland Security official used the skit to highlight the ongoing government shutdown. The exchange underscores the politically charged atmosphere surrounding current capitol Hill gridlock adn the scrutiny facing Bondi following recent testimony.
The SNL cold open, which aired Saturday, featured Tina Fey portraying south Dakota Governor Kristi Noem alongside Amy Poehler. A screenshot from the sketch, depicting Fey’s Noem wielding an assault rifle, was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Bondi with the caption, “Loving Amy Poehler!” The sketch satirized Bondi’s recent Capitol Hill testimony, where she faced questioning from Democratic senators regarding issues including ICE practices, the deployment of American troops in U.S. cities, the Jeffrey Epstein case, and the current government shutdown.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the sketch to Entertainment weekly,stating,”SNL is absolutely right – the Democrats’ shutdown does need to end!”
The SNL skit referenced several controversial aspects of Noem’s public profile,including an account in her memoir detailing the shooting of her dog,a detail widely believed to have impacted her consideration as a potential Vice Presidential candidate for Donald Trump. In the sketch, Fey’s Noem quipped, “I’m the rarest type of person in Washington D.C., a brunette that Donald Trump listens to.” Poehler, portraying herself, delivered the line, “the DOJ has many ongoing operations, and we’re moving like Kash Patel’s eyeballs very quickly in multiple directions at once.”
Bondi’s testimony this past week involved repeatedly defending her positions against Democratic senators’ inquiries. The cold open followed closely on the heels of that contentious questioning.
