Several Republican lawmakers on Wednesday were astounded by news that President-elect Donald Trump planned to tap Representative Matt Gaetz as the top law enforcement official in his coming administration.
“I was shocked by the announcement,” Senator Susan Collins told reporters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced at a late-day press conference that Gaetz had resigned, effective immediately, allowing Republicans to potentially substitute him with another, presumably less scandal-scarred replacement through a special election by the time the next Congress convenes in January.
Gaetz’s resignation will also end an ongoing House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of sexual misconduct, drugs, improper payments and obstruction of justice, as former members are not subject to the panel’s jurisdiction.
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 Department Of Justice’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 January 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,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters.
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, another Republican, 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 Republican colleagues. Many resent him for driving the ouster of former Representative Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office last year, leaving the party leaderless for weeks until they settled on Johnson as McCarthy’s replacement.
Others in the House Republicans weren’t quite speechless.
“Are you shittin’ me?” said Representative Mike Simpson 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 shitting 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.
Prior to Johnson’s announcement of Gaetz’s resignation, Representative Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said the panel would not speed up its probe, despite the prospect of confirmation hearings where Gaetz’s conduct would be examined.
“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.”
Johnson praised Gaetz for departing and called him “one of the most intelligent members of Congress.”
“He’s very concerned about the lawfare that has been occurring in the Department of Justice under the Biden administration and the fact that the American people have lost their faith in our institutions of justice because of everything that you’ve seen,” Johnson said. “He’s a reformer in his mind and heart.”
“He's very concerned about the lawfare that has been occurring in the Department of Justice under the Biden administration and the fact that the American people have lost their faith in our institutions of justice because of everything that you've seen.”
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
Most Senate Republicans avoided saying whether they would support Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general.
“I’ll keep an open mind,” Senator Lindsey Graham, 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,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal 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.”
Senator Dick Durbin, 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.