Former President Trump shocked and appalled some Republican lawmakers on Wednesday by announcing plans to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general.
Why it matters: Republican reaction to even Trump’s most controversial nominations has been muted so far, but placing the scandal-prone right-winger in the nation’s highest law enforcement role is a step too far for many.
“We wanted him out of the House … this isn’t what we were thinking,” quipped one House Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about Trump’s decision.
What we’re hearing: Trump’s announcement was met with audible gasps by House Republicans during a conference meeting on Wednesday afternoon, multiple sources in the room told Axios.
One House Republican in the meeting described the conference’s response as “stunned and disgusted.”
What they’re saying: “Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the senate,” said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), referring to the British monarch who died in 2022.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), noting that Gaetz is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, said he would be “a compromised AG” and that “there are better choices.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was “shocked” by the pick: “This shows why the advice and consent process is so important and I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Gaetz has “got his work really cut out for him” to get confirmed.
They might be, right now.
See, there’s plenty of time before they actually have to cast a vote. So I’m sure that means Trump will send some mean tweets out about them. And then they’ll make the pligrimage down to Mar-a-Lago, bend the knee, say 3 Hail Donalds as penance and promise to insult a brown person on their way out before returning to Washington, DC and voting to confirm him.
They’re not going to cast votes. This will all be done with recess appointments, and all of these “concerned” senators will “express their concerns” with the exploitation of the recess appointment process and lament that there was nothing they could do about it.
They had really hoped that Mr. Trump would cooperate with the advice and consent process, but what can they do if he pursues the recess route? It really is too bad and all of that.