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WASHINGTON — Several Republican lawmakers on Wednesday were astounded by news that President-elect Donald Trump planned to tap Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as the top law enforcement official in his coming administration.
“I was shocked by the announcement,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters. Trump said in a post on his social media website that Gaetz had “distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice.
” Gaetz has been a harsh critic of the DOJ’s two criminal cases against Trump — one for trying to overturn the 2020 election, and another for hoarding classified documents after Trump left the White House. Gaetz has also falsely suggested federal agents helped orchestrate the mob riot by Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Collins and other Republicans noted Gaetz would need to be confirmed by the Senate and suggested it would be difficult for him to win majority approval, even though Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority of Senate seats. “This shows why the advice and consent process is so important, and I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing,” Collins said. “I’m sure it’ll make for a popcorn-eating confirmation hearing,” Sen.
Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters.
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said. A group of House Republicans gathered for a party meeting on Wednesday reportedly gasped when they learned of Trump’s announcement. Gaetz is not popular among his House GOP colleagues.
Many resent him for driving the ouster of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the speaker’s office last year, leaving the party leaderless for weeks until they settled on Rep.
Mike Johnson (R-La.) as McCarthy’s replacement. Others in the House GOP weren’t quite speechless.
“Are you shittin’ me?” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) as he was asked for his initial reaction. Asked by one reporter if he thought Gaetz had the character and experience to be attorney general, Simpson stared at them incredulously, waited six seconds to answer and then said, again, with a laugh: “Are you shittin’ me, that you asked that question? No.
But hell, you’ll print that and now I’ll be investigated.” Gaetz faced a federal investigation for sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. The Justice Department dropped the probe without charges last year, after attorneys for witnesses and others involved in the case said the investigation had stalled over concerns about the credibility of key witnesses and a lack of evidence.
But the House Ethics Committee has continued with its own investigation into the Florida Republican. The committee said in June that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” Gaetz has denied these allegations and claimed McCarthy orchestrated the investigation out of a desire for revenge.
Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said that if Gaetz resigns from the House in order to be the attorney general, the probe would end.
And Guest said the committee wouldn’t speed the probe — meaning it may never publish a report on its findings for the public. “This matter is not unique from other cases where we have members who have been under investigation, who have either resigned or have been defeated in their bid for reelection,” Guest said. “We’re not going to do anything to expedite this.
” Most Senate Republicans avoided saying whether they would support Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general. “I’ll keep an open mind,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.
C.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. “I usually support presidential picks to be in their Cabinet.
I’ve done that for both sides.” Democrats were less generous. “It seems like a highly surprising, even bizarre choice that is likely to be met with a lot of skepticism on both sides of the aisle,” Sen.
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. “I think there will be some very deep-seated doubt about his ability to fairly and wisely manage the very powerful law enforcement and prosecutorial system of our nation.
” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the judiciary committee, noted in a statement that Trump tried to use the Justice Department in 2020 to overturn the election, such as by asking officials to falsely claim the results were tainted.
“He has made it clear that he now plans to use the Justice Department to seek revenge on his political enemies. Representative Matt Gaetz would be a disaster as the next Attorney General of the United States,” Durbin said. Related From Our Partner.
