President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly privately acknowledged that his controversial choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, may not pass Senate confirmation given the outgoing congressman’s reputation.
In private conversations with confidants, Trump has admitted that his choice will take some convincing of senators and he has begun making phone calls to pressure them, the New York Times reported.
Since nominating the outgoing Florida representative and loyalists for the high-ranking law enforcement position, Trump has been met with critical media headlines and outrage from the public.
Many have raised concerns over the Justice Department’s closed investigation into Gaetz’s alleged sex trafficking of a minor and the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gatez’s alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Thus far, Gaetz has not been charged with a crime and the House ethics report has not released its findings yet. Though many are pressuring the committee to release the report before Senate confirmation hearings.
Gaetz, 42, has denied all wrongdoing, claiming the investigation is based on “lies.”
Part of the far-right faction of congressmen, Gaetz is most well-known for sending the House into chaos last year when he led the effort to oust former speaker Kevin McCarthy. But even before that, Gaetz had a reputation for pushing the envelope.
One Republican congressman called Gaetz “abhorrent.” Another congressman told NBC News Gaetz was unserious.
Attorney general is among the most powerful positions in the executive branch, responsible for enforcing federal law, giving legal advice and opinions to the president and heads of other executive departments and occasionally appearing before the Supreme Court.
Historically, the incoming president and a team of advisors carefully choose a nominee with minimal resume blemishes to make Senate confirmation hearings go smoothly. Even during his first term, Trump took this approach.
But the incoming president has apparently abandoned that tradition, having learned lessons from his first term where he saw a revolving door of people in his cabinet who clashed with him often.
A recent Times report claimed Trump decided to nominate Gaetz abruptly on a two-hour-long plane ride, invigorated by his recent election win.
Though the president-elect is aware the odds are not in his favor regarding Gaetz holding the top law enforcement officer position, Trump is standing by his decision. It appears to be part of his strategy to overwhelm senators with so many controversial choices that they all cannot be blocked.
It is a tactic, the Times notes, that has been discussed in the past for judicial nominees but never for cabinet nominees.
Trump has tapped other controversial individuals for cabinet-level positions, such as vaccine skeptic and health conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary and former congresswoman and Russian state media favored Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.
With so many questionable choices, some senators may be willing to approve a few of Trump’s picks.
Gaetz may be confirmed if some senators can be convinced to side with Trump. However, should Gaetz fail the Senate confirmation, the president-elect will need a backup plan and undoubtedly he is already thinking of a Plan B.
