In a surprise move, President-elect Donald Trump announced today he is nominating Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–Fla.) to be U.S. Attorney General.
Gaetz, whose legal experience is limited to three years of work at a Florida law firm and being the subject of a Justice Department investigation, wasn't among the names circulated as potential attorney general picks, and his political career as an often unserious and widely-disliked backbencher makes him a bizarre choice to lead the chief federal law enforcement agency.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R–Idaho), summed up the general reaction among Capitol Hill, the media, and social media to the announcement:
Asked for his reaction to the Gaetz nom, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho): "Are you shittin' me?"
— Jonathan Nicholson (@JNicholsonInDC) November 13, 2024
However, in a social media statement, Trump praised Gaetz as "a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice."
If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the same agency that investigated him for sex trafficking and obstruction of justice starting in 2019. The Justice Department announced in 2023 that it was declining to prosecute Gaetz, who maintained his innocence. There is still an ongoing congressional ethics probe into Gaetz over the same allegations.
As attorney general, Gaetz would have wide power to open and close investigations against Trump's enemies and allies, redirect the focus of civil rights investigations, and provide legal cover for the Trump administration's initiatives.
Although Gaetz is one of the most pro-Trump members of Congress, he's also one of the younger Republicans, and his politics sometimes stray from GOP orthodoxy. For example, Gaetz is one of the few House Republicans who consistently supports marijuana legalization, and he supported the bipartisan First Step Act of 2018, a major criminal justice reform bill.
But Gaetz's personal politics are beside the point. Trump nominated Gaetz because he's a loyalist who supported Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election and repeated his claims of a "deep-state witch hunt" against Trump by federal law enforcement agencies.
Now Gaetz will have to survive confirmation hearings, and Republicans will have to weigh their open contempt for Gaetz against their loyalty to Trump. If history is any indication, though, he should start thinking about decorations for his new office at the Robert F. Kennedy Building.
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