Democrats call roundtable a "sham," allege Attorney General Pam Bondi skipped deposition and vow to boycott

A committee Democrat said the oversight roundtable "is not a real hearing" and accused the majority of arranging a session without rules or subpoena power that prevents meaningful oversight.

"This is not a real hearing. It's one that's set up to appear like one," the committee member said, criticizing the format as a roundtable with "no input on motions" and "no ability to have motions to subpoena." The speaker said that, as a result, Democrats will not take part in the process.

The committee member alleged that "last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi skipped a legally required deposition to be before our committee," adding that there was "no communication, no compliance, and no accountability." The statement was presented as an allegation by the Democrat; the transcript does not record a response from Pam Bondi or from the majority caucus.

The speaker said the majority has reacted to noncompliance by "canceling hearings altogether," which the speaker characterized as an attempt to "shut down hearings and oversight." The committee Democrat urged the majority "to hold real conversations, to hold the real hearings, and to do those immediately."

No formal motions or votes are recorded in the transcript. The dispute in the transcript centers on whether the roundtable format and the cancellation of hearings amount to a forfeiture of oversight authority; the transcript contains the allegation about the missed deposition but does not include supporting documents or a recorded response from Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Next steps were not specified in the transcript.