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1h ago

Bondi Embraces SNL Skit as DHS Repackages Clip Into ICE Recruitment Push

Treating a late-night parody as outreach raises partisan questions about oversight norms, blurring the line between entertainment and government communications.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) speaks during an event where U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum in the Oval Office on September 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump signed a memorandum that will send members of the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies to Memphis, Tennessee in an effort to decrease crime in the city. Also pictured is Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (L). (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington, DC.
(L) Pam Bondi is sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (R) Comedian Amy Poehler parodies Bondi during the October 11, 2025 episode of "Saturday Night Live."
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Overview

  • Amy Poehler portrayed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Tina Fey played Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an SNL cold open that mocked Bondi’s recent Senate testimony and referenced Noem’s Old Yeller dog-shooting controversy.
  • Bondi posted on X tagging Noem, joked about recreating the image in Chicago, and wrote “Loving Amy Poehler!,” a message that drew millions of views and tens of thousands of likes by Monday.
  • The Department of Homeland Security shared and edited a clip of the sketch on X, thanked SNL for the “free advertisement,” and used it to promote ICE recruitment while removing lines that mocked the agency.
  • DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin echoed a line from the segment in a statement, asserting that the Democrats’ shutdown “does need to end,” reinforcing the administration’s political messaging around the skit.
  • Reaction split across media, with Ana Navarro on The View calling Bondi’s posture “shameful” for institutional norms as co-host Sara Haines argued leaning into the joke shows grace, while conservative commentary praised the tactic as defanging critics.