Reactions came flooding in from Washington after President-elect Donald Trump stunned the political establishment by nominating Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for attorney general.
Gaetz is the latest in a string of close allies Trump has tapped to join his second administration. As someone who has called for the Justice Department to be abolished and has been investigated by the agency, the possibility he might lead the DOJ garnered backlash, celebration, and pure shock.
“Source in room where House Republicans are waiting to start leadership elections tells me there were AUDIBLE GASP when Rep. MATT GAETZ was announced as President-elect Trump’s pick for Attorney General,” one reporter wrote in a post on X.
With some members of his own party already voicing opposition to his nomination, Gaetz could face a shaky path to Senate confirmation.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who said she was “shocked” by the nomination, announced she would not support Gaetz in the upper chamber, while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) also offered a less-than-enthusiastic reaction, per reports from Punchbowl News.
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) told reporters that Gaetz “has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II [who is dead] than being confirmed by the Senate.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who was quick to praise Trump’s decision to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for secretary of state, was just as fast to criticize the Gaetz pick.
“There have been serious, qualified individuals nominated to posts, like Rubio or Stefanik. Eric Schmitt would be a solid choice for AG,” Fetterman said on X. “But Dem opinions on Gaetz aren’t that interesting. The good ones will come from my GOP colleagues to justify a vote for that jerkoff.”
Others took to the platform to note the irony that Gaetz would be leading the agency that conducted a yearslong investigation into him based on underage sex trafficking allegations.
The DOJ closed the investigation in February after concluding it had not found enough evidence to charge Gaetz with any crimes.
“The FBI and DOJ previously tried to frame Matt Gaetz with the help of a con artist who was trying to extort Gaetz’s family out of tens of millions of dollars,” right-leaning media pundit Sean Davis wrote. “I can’t think of a more perfect choice to tear the most corrupt agency on earth down to the studs.”
Another Trump ally noted, “It’s hilarious because the DOJ tried to persecute him and now he’s going to run it,” while conservative activist Charlie Kirk claimed that “the DOJ almost ruined Matt Gaetz’s life over fake accusations.”
“Now he will fix it to make sure that never happens again,” Kirk said.
The confusion and frustration on Capitol Hill were not unanimous. Some Republican lawmakers heaped praise on Gaetz, or at least said they trusted Trump’s decision-making.
“Very happy for my friend Matt Gaetz,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said. “He is a fighter and that is exactly what we need!”
Rubio also praised Gaetz and batted away concerns about him getting confirmed.
“I’ve known Matt for a very long time, I think he’d do a great job,” Rubio told reporters. “The president deserves great deference as a president with a mandate, and he has a right to surround himself with people he trusts.”
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Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) called Gaetz “a brilliant mind who will pursue and restore justice for all and deweaponize a woke and out-of-control justice system,” in comments to the Washington Examiner.
“There are few people I trust more to take on the deep state,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton added after describing Gaetz as “a stalwart defender of liberty.”
