Donald Trump said he will nominate Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to be the US attorney general on Wednesday, tapping a far-right loyalist to one of the most powerful positions in US government.
Late on Wednesday evening, Gaetz resigned from Congress, ending the ethics inquiry by the House ethics committee over allegations including sexual misconduct.
Gaetz’s nomination is one of the most significant to date. As attorney general, he would be the country’s chief law enforcement officer and oversee the legal positions that the government takes on key issues, including abortion, civil rights laws, and first amendment issues. The president-elect has pledged to use the justice department to prosecute his political enemies and there is little doubt that Gaetz will help him fulfill that pledge.
First elected to Congress in 2016, Gaetz represents a ruby-red district in the Florida panhandle and has become known as one of Congress’s most showboating members. He reportedly sought a pardon from Trump over his efforts to overturn the election, and has embraced conspiracy theories about the attack on the US Capitol. Last year, he led a successful effort to oust fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, throwing his caucus into chaos.
Gaetz’s nomination comes a little over a year after the justice department decided not to charge him as part of a sex-trafficking investigation that involved allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Joel Greenberg, a former friend and ally, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Gaetz has denied the allegations.
Gaetz has vehemently denied wrongdoing in the House ethics committee investigation over allegations that he “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”.
Meanwhile, Trump heaped praise on Gaetz.
“Matt is 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,” Trump said in a statement posted to his Truth Social media account.
He added: “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”
The nomination was immediately met with widespread criticism.
“This guy has been on the run from the law for quite some time now, so he’ll think he’s above it. He’ll be corrupt as hell,” said Olivia Troye, a former official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration who has become an outspoken critic of the former president.
Robert Weissman, the co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen said it was “hard to imagine a worse and more unqualified candidate” than Gaetz.
“As a member of Congress, Gaetz has demonstrated contempt for the rule of law, truth and decency. He is singularly unqualified to lead an agency that enforces civil rights laws and environmental protection statutes. Under Gaetz, we’d have every reason to expect an America where corporate criminals walk free but immigrants and people of color are harassed or rounded up with minimal pretext,” he said in a statement.
In January, Republicans will take control of the US Senate, which will vote on Gaetz’s confirmation. They appear headed towards holding at least 53 seats, which would give them enough votes to confirm the Florida congressman, even if a few Republican senators vote against him.
Gaetz also has a history of making derogatory and offensive remarks towards women. “Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he said in 2022.
As a Florida lawmaker before he was in Congress, he opposed a revenge porn law, reportedly telling the bill’s sponsor that ex-lovers could do what they pleased with images their partners had shared with them.
“Are you not entertained?” said CNN political analyst and Trump ally Scott Jennings in the wake of the news.
Andrew Gumbel contributed reporting