Attorney General Pam Bondi erupted in fury on Thanksgiving, unleashing a blistering rebuke of what she called 'progressive left idiots' after two National Guard members were gunned down in a brazen ambush just blocks from the White House.

Bondi vowed Thursday morning that the accused shooter would face the death penalty if the wounded troops do not survive Wednesday's 'terror attack.'

Sadly, on Thursday evening President Trump announced 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom had died from her wounds.

Bondi delivered the emotional on-air broadside during a live appearance on Fox & Friends following the shooting of both Beckstrom and Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, both of the West Virginia National Guard.

Wolfe remains in hospital in critical condition.

'We are evaluating everything,' Bondi told Fox host Emily Compagno. 'Everyone has been up all night since it happened, evaluating everything regarding this monster - the president's right, he is a monster - who did this.'

The most explosive moment came after Bondi was asked to respond to Democratic criticism of the National Guard deployment - including warnings that troops could be used against American civilians.

'What these lawmakers are doing and what some of these news anchors on other networks are doing, what their guests are saying is disgusting and despicable,' she said. 

'But it's actually sad what our country has come to with these progressive left idiots who are doing this and saying this about our heroes who are keeping them safe. 

'And some of the people… who are saying this have security details to keep them safe. It's unbelievable to me.'

Bondi tied the tragedy directly to what she described as government failures and border security breakdowns.

'We have looked, Emily, at failed policies of Biden from autopenning violent felons being taken off death row to letting people into our country without proper vetting after the entire Afghanistan debacle, and it has been tremendously horrible for these young people's families who were going through this,' Bondi said. 

'Right now, we will base our charges on their prognosis. If something happens, I will tell you right now. I will tell you early, we will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster, who should not have been in our country.'

Bondi was visibly upset as she choked back tears as she revealed how Beckstrom, had volunteered for duty so others could go home for the holiday.

'She volunteered to be there on Thanksgiving working today. She volunteered, as did many of those guardsmen and women, so other people could be home with their families,' Bondi said. 

When asked what the maximum charges could be, Bondi said the legal outcome hinges on whether the two victims survive their injuries. 

'Worst-case scenario minimum life in prison with terrorism charges,' she said. 

'And again, it's still a very active open investigation… ATF has been involved analyzing the gun. They are moving at light speed to make sure justice is served because these men and women out there on the streets every day are our heroes.'

She confirmed that the suspect entered the US in 2021, and that the national security division of the Justice Department, the FBI, the ATF, and federal agencies across the government are now part of what she called a full-scale national investigation.

The gunman has been identified by US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who came to the US during the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome evacuation program.

Pirro said the suspect launched an 'ambush-style' attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver and currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

'It's too soon to say what the suspect's motives were,' Pirro said, adding: 'We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.'

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the case is now being treated as terrorism, calling it a 'coast-to-coast investigation.'

Lakanwal previously worked in a CIA-backed Afghan Army 'Zero Unit' and entered the United States in 2021 during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed in a statement that Lakanwal's relationship with the US government 'ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation.'

Lakanwal later settled in Bellingham, Washington State, with his wife and five children, according to his former landlord Kristina Widman.

Following the attack, President Donald Trump ordered 500 additional National Guard troops into Washington.

Bondi said Trump was in constant communication as the crisis unfolded.

'President Trump and I were talking all day yesterday,' she said. 'We will not be taken down by this. We will not be threatened. We will not be intimidated as a country.'

Trump later issued a video statement calling for a reinvestigation of all Afghan evacuees.

'If they can't love our country, we don't want them,' Trump said, calling the shooting 'a crime against our entire nation.'