President Donald Trump has leapt to the defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi amid fresh scrutiny from elements of his base over recent Justice Department revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Trump headed off a reporter’s Epstein-related questions for Bondi at a Cabinet meeting, chiding the journalist for asking “about a guy who’s been talked about for years” and suggesting the interest in the subject was a “desecration” at a time when the country was grappling with issues like the catastrophic Texas flooding. The president’s response appeared to signal his continued support for Bondi even as she faces questions over the Justice Department’s acknowledgment in a memo on Monday that Epstein did not maintain a “client list.” Bondi had previously suggested in a Fox News interview that a client list was “sitting on my desk” for review, but the attorney general said Tuesday that she was referring to the Epstein case file in general as being on her desk. Trump also said he would be OK with congress investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying, “I think he’s terrible.” Trump was answering a reporter’s question at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday about whether the head of the U.S. central bank should be investigated for lying to Congress. Trump has been calling on Powell to slash benchmark interest rates because inflation has eased. Powell has held off on rate reductions until the impact of Trump’s tariffs are understood. Trump said he thinks Powell “should resign immediately.” The president said during his Cabinet meeting that the Russian leader is “killing a lot of people” and a lot of them are his soldiers and Ukraine’s soldiers. Trump was asked whether he was planning to do something about Putin, and he said, “I wouldn’t be telling you.” “It’s turned out to be tougher,” he said as he spoke about the war.