Trump’s choice of Gaetz as AG causes audible gasps from some Republicans in Congress

Reaction among Republicans on Capitol Hill to the election of newly elected President Donald Trump pick by Matt Gaetz to become his attorney general on Wednesday ranged from shock to support.

Several House Republicans, meeting behind closed doors, said there was an audible gasp in the room when they heard Trump had picked Gaetz.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was among those who said they were shocked, appearing to refer to Trump’s demand that his nominees be done with recess appointments — without Senate confirmation.

“This shows why the advice and consent process is so important, and I am sure many questions will arise during his hearing,” Collins told reporters. “Obviously the president has the right to nominate whoever he wants, but I’m sure there will be a lot of questions.”

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who voted to find Trump guilty at his second impeachment trial during his first term, said: “I don’t think this is a serious nomination for attorney general.”

“We need a serious attorney general and I look forward to the opportunity to consider someone who is serious,” she said. “This wasn’t on my bingo card.”

Gaetz faced a yearslong Justice Department investigation that began in 2019 into allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice. He has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Justice Department informed Gaetz in 2023 that it declined to file charges against him following his investigation.

But the Florida congressman still faces one ongoing research by the House Ethics Committee regarding the same allegations.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday evening that Gaetz had resigned from Congress, effective immediately, to “start the clock” on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ process to call a special election to to fill his vacancy. Gaetz’s resignation will end the investigation by the Ethics Commission, which does not investigate members after they leave Congress.

When Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota was asked if the ethics investigation concerned him, he said, “It would certainly be concerning because it would be part of his record,” Rounds said. Rounds told reporters that he had “no comment yet” on whether Gaetz would be confirmed. When asked if he would vote for confirmation, he said, “The only thing I can really tell you right now is that we normally give the president the benefit of give the doubt, but that we still do our due diligence and that advice and consent are still important.’

Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming was vague when asked for her opinion on Gaetz, telling reporters, “I haven’t even had a chance to think about it yet, it’s too new for me.”

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho told ABC News he didn’t know Gaetz “so I’ll have to look into it.” When asked if Gaetz could be confirmed, he said, “I have no idea, but I assume so.”

Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, whom Trump announced earlier in the day as his pick for secretary of state, had complimentary things to say about his fellow Florida native.

“I’ve known him for a long time, and again, I think the president has a right to his team and he’s made his commitments,” he said. “And so I like Matt a lot. I know him very well, and I am confident that if the Senate confirms him, he would do a good job. And again, the presidents have a right to have the people they want. these key positions to carry out the mandate given to him by the voters of the United States.”

On the House side, Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., expressed support for Trump’s pick. But Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former Trump aide who was particularly critical of Gaetz after his efforts to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year, strongly disputed the choice and predicted that Gaetz would not be confirmed by the Senate .

‘I just think it’s stupid. I believe the President is probably rewarding him for being such a loyal soldier for the President, but the President is smart enough, and his team is smart enough, to know that Mr. Gaetz will never be confirmed. by the Senate, he said. “And so this is going to be a very long period for him where he’s going to be excoriated by members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle because he’s never been a team player and he’s never helped this conference. .”

Miller said “there are two different kinds of chaos” – he says Trump brings one that is positive, but the one Gaetz brings “destroys things.”