Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has already fired warning shots at any Republicans who might vote against Matt Gaetz becoming Donald Trump’s incoming attorney general.
Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday after the president-elect announced his controversial decision, the Alabama senator threatened to boot party members from the upper chamber if they oppose the former Florida representative’s nomination.
“I don’t know, you’re finding all the swamp creatures coming out right now,” Tuberville said of those sharing their disdain over Gaetz’s prospective role.
“I’ve already seen where a couple says, ‘I’m not voting for him.’”
Tuberville, 70, a staunch Trump supporter who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, continued: “Wait a minute. You are not the United States of America. You have one vote in the US Senate. You did not get elected the president. Vote with President Trump.
“This is the last chance we’re gonna have of saving this country. And if you wanna get in the way, fine.”
He then warned: “But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate, too if you try to do that.”
Alarm bells rang for a swathe of congressional Republicans on Wednesday when Trump announced he had picked Gaetz to become the nation’s top law enforcement officer, and head up the Department of Justice.
The 42-year-old conservative firebrand “has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” the president-elect said in a statement on Truth Social.
“It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!” Gaetz responded on X.
GOP Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were among the GOP members quick to speak out against his choice.
“I was shocked by the announcement – that shows why the advise-and-consent process is so important,” said Collins.
“I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.”
Murkowski told reporters: “We need a serious attorney general. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.”
Texas Senator John Cornyn said he is “trying to absorb all this.”
“I don’t really know him, other than his public persona,” he addded.
A simple majority vote in the Senate would need to ratify Gaetz’s nomination, meaning it would take the opposition of just three GOP lawmakers to possibly deadlock the chamber.
Gaetz, who resigned from the House on Wednesday hours after the announcement, is among Trump’s most prominent allies in Washington.
If appointed, Gaetz will follow current Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose Justice Department carried out a sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz and his associates.
Gaetz was ultimately never charged with a crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
However, he remains the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and drug use, among other allegations.
The committee was reportedly due to release the findings of its probe in just two days, and the findings are said to be “highly damaging,” according to reports.
Gaetz’s resignation has effectively ended the probe as he is no longer under the House committee’s jurisdiction.
