Matt Gaetz for Attorney-General must be a troll?
I’ve actually quite liked most of Trump’s picks so far. They have included:
- Chief of Staff: Susie Willis – very capable, and incidentally the first ever woman
- Secretary of State: Marco Rubio. Would have been a good President. Very solid.
- Secretary of Defence: Pete Hegseth. Had not heard of him but has Princeton and Harvard degrees and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His stated job is to dewoke the Pentagon
- Secretary of Homeland Security: Kirsti Noem. Dogs beware!
- National Security Advisor: Michael Waltz. Served as a Green Beret in Afghanistan
- EPA: Lee Zeldin
- UN Ambassador: Elise Stefanik. Vocal against anti-semitism
- Israel Ambassador: Mick Huckabee
- CIA: John Ratcliffe
- DNI: Tulsi Gabbard (former Democratic Representative)
These are all fairly respectable picks. Sure those on the left won’t like them, but they will be able to pursue the agenda Trump was elected on.
However his latest nomination of Matt Gaetz to be Attorney-General is very different. To say Gaetz is unsuitable is to put it mildly. He was investigated for sex trafficking and sex with minors. He is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct.
I’d say there is a close to zero chance Gaetz could be confirmed by the Senate. Trump probably knows this also. So this leads to two scenarios.
- Trump withdraws the nomination (or it gets voted down) and everyone is so relieved that Trump’s second choice flies through (ie Trump is playing chess)
- Trump is determined to scorch the DOJ and he appoints Gaetz as a recess appointment, through to the end of 2026.
I hope it is the first.