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Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz as US Attorney General is a controversial choice.
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Gaetz’s nomination would require Senate confirmation, which could be difficult to achieve.
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Republican lawmakers otherwise loyal to the president-elect are already pouncing on Gaetz.
Amid a series of high-profile Cabinet choices, perhaps no choice has drawn more attention than newly elected President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as the next U.S. attorney general.
Gaetz is a polarizing figure, even within the Republican Party.
His nomination requires Senate confirmation, and while Republicans will have a majority in the Senate, several Republican lawmakers have already indicated they are less than happy with this controversial choice.
While other nominees — such as former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of Defense — have raised eyebrows, Gaetz stands out as the one choice Republicans are eager to criticize.
Gaetz was previously the victim of sex trafficking allegations, which arose after the Justice Department opened an investigation into him in April 2021.
Although the agency ultimately declined to press charges, Gaetz was until recently investigated by the House of Representatives Ethics Committee. However, his abrupt resignation from the House of Representatives after his appointment on Wednesday means the committee no longer has the jurisdiction to investigate him. according to The New York Times.
To further complicate his support among Republicans, Gaetz also led the charge last year to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives, a move that led to significant friction within the party.
Even some Trump loyalists have expressed surprise at the Gaetz nomination.
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
Mullin is a staunch Trump supporter who backed his baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and was even rumored to be a potential Cabinet pick.
But that didn’t stop him from less than fully supporting the Gaetz nomination.
Appearing on CNN, he said, “Matt Gaetz and I, there’s no doubt that we’ve had our differences.”
While expressing confidence in “Trump’s decision-making on this,” Mullin said Gaetz should argue his case in the Senate.
“There will be a lot of questions,” he told CNN. “He has to answer those questions, and hopefully he can answer those questions well, and if he can do that, we’ll go through the confirmation process.”
Those differences point to comments Mullin made to CNN last year, around the time Gaetz filed a motion to impeach McCarthy.
Mullin said, “There’s a reason why no one in Congress came to Gaetz’s defense in the wake of the sex trafficking allegations.
He further alleged that Gaetz would brag about his sexual escapades on the House floor.
Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota
Cramer, a staunch supporter of Trump since he endorsed him early in his 2016 campaign, expressed surprise at Gaetz’s nomination.
According to Ramsey Touchberry of the Washington Examiner, Cramer was surprised by the Gaetz choice.
“That’s an uff da,” Cramer said in Touchberry’s X-post. “Huh, I don’t know what to think.”
The Minnesota Monthly describes “uff da” as “exhaustion, frustration, confusion, surprise and mild disgust.”
In response to questions from CBS News reporter Cristina Corujo, Cramer said Gaetz’s nomination was a “surprise” and an “interesting choice.”
He also said he doesn’t know Gaetz very well and thinks he has the academic credentials, but said he is concerned about the way he “handled the bickering with Speaker McCarthy. I thought it was unnecessary, I thought it was divisive.”
Senator John Cornyn of Texas
Cornyn, another trusted Trump ally, also seemed shocked by Gaetz’s choice.
According to Punchbowl News reporter Samantha Handler, he gave an “audible huff” when asked about it.
Alex Bolton, a staff writer for The Hill, said in an
Cornyn told HuffPost reporter Arthur Delaney, “I don’t know the man other than his public persona.”
According to Max Cohen, another reporter for Punchbowl News, Cornyn was asked about Gaetz’s status as the subject of a House Ethics investigation.
“Well, that could come up,” Cornyn told reporters.
Representative Max Miller of Ohio
Although he may not vote on Gaetz, Miller had some nice words about his fellow Republican lawmaker.
The Republican congressman, who Trump has previously praised as “the greatest POTUS this country has ever had,” told CNN’s Haley Talbot that Gaetz is “a man who is literally worse than the gum on the bottom of my shoe.”
According to Talbot, Miller also accused Gaetz of destroying the country, saying he “ran around here last year like a six-year-old with a loaded revolver and a happy trigger finger.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
