3 days Ago
President-elect Donald Trump has privately admitted that his attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz , has long odds for a Senate confirmation, but he’s still pressing senators on the issue anyway, according to multiple reports. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.
D.) confirmed with Axios that he was among those who received a call from Trump about backing the former Florida congressman. “He clearly wants Matt Gaetz.
He believes Matt Gaetz is the one person who will have the fearlessness and ferociousness, really, to do what needs doing at the Department of Justice,” Cramer said, adding that Trump is a “pretty persuasive guy.” Axios also confirmed that Trump made a similar call to at least one other senator. Behind the scenes, The New York Times reported , Trump has privately acknowledged he knows that Gaetz ― who was under a House Ethics Committee investigation for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use until he resigned from his Florida seat last week ― faces an uphill battle to be confirmed in the Senate.
The nomination, the outlet reported, is part of a more sinister strategy to lower the bar for all his nominees. “He is making calls on Mr. Gaetz’s behalf, and he remains confident that even if Mr.
Gaetz does not make it, the standard for an acceptable candidate will have shifted so much that the Senate may simply approve his other nominees who have appalled much of Washington,” the Times reported. Other controversial Trump nominees include Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services; Pete Hegseth , a Fox News personality accused of sexual assault, to be defense secretary; and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard , a favorite of Russian state media with no intelligence or national security experience, to be the director of national intelligence. Don't let this be the end of the free press.
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Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.
Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. Gaetz could become even more of a long-shot candidate if the House Ethics Committee dismisses calls from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.
) and releases its report on Gaetz anyway. The public got a sneak peak of what that report may include earlier Monday, when a lawyer representing two women who testified before the committee said Gaetz paid his clients for sex in 2017 and that one of them also saw Gaetz having sex with an underage girl. The two women both shared those details in their testimony before the committee, the attorney said.
If all Senate Democrats vote against confirming Gaetz, it will only take three Republicans joining them to block him from becoming attorney general. Several have already indicated they may do so. Related From Our Partner.
