President-elect Donald Trump selected Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) on Wednesday as his nominee for attorney general. The 42-year-old attorney has been one of Trump’s loudest and fiercest defenders, especially in stopping the lawfare against Trump.
Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official who briefly served as acting attorney general in the Trump administration and assisted Trump with investigating 2020 election irregularities, told The Arizona Sun Times he agreed with the selection. “Matt Gaetz is an outstanding lawyer and constitutionalist!” Clark said. ”I think he is an amazing pick by President Trump.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-03), who has championed combating corruption including in the 2020 election, had similar praise. “Matt Gaetz is a brilliant mind who will pursue and restore justice for all and de-weaponize a woke and out of control justice system,” he said. “I congratulate my friend Matt Gaetz and thank President Donald Trump for selecting an advocate for the American people.”
Trump announced on his social media site TruthSocial. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System,” he said. “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department. On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization. He is a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.”
When Trump made the announcement, Gaetz posted on X, “We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people. And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!” Trump has pledged to reduce the size of the 115,000-person DOJ.
German-owned Politico called Gaetz “one of the most enthusiastic defenders of President Trump on cable news” and a “proud Trump protégé” in 2018. Gaetz has strongly denounced the political weaponization of the DOJ.
Gaetz has served in the House of Representatives since 2017. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016.
He proposed bills in the House to allow prayer in schools, abolish the ATF, end birthright citizenship, reinstate federal employees forced to resign over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and establish Stand Your Ground nationwide. A bill he introduced in July would block state officials and “unelected bureaucrats” from interfering in presidential elections through “dubious” lawsuits.
Last year in Congress, Gaetz “introduc[ed] a resolution to censure and condemn United States District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, the judge presiding over President Donald Trump’s case in Washington, D.C., for showing open bias and partisanship in her official duties on the bench.”
It is deeply concerning that a United States District Court judge would exhibit such blatant political bias from the bench. Judge Tanya Chutkan’s extreme sentencing of January 6th defendants, while openly supporting the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, showcases a… pic.twitter.com/JzLKrU6Ryh
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) August 18, 2023
During the 2019 House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings against Trump, Gaetz famously grilled the witnesses, demanding to know what political candidates they had contributed to. He denounced New York Judge Juan Merchan in a press conference during the trial over the alleged payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, stating the charges were over a “made-up crime.”
He was one of 21 House Republicans who voted against a resolution to award the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. During certification, he objected to the electoral votes from Arizona and suggested that Antifa was involved in the protest.
In 2020, the Biden DOJ investigated Gaetz over allegations brought by his opponents of sex trafficking and sexual relationships with minors due to some parties he attended. Unable to produce evidence, no charges were ever brought. The Democratic-controlled House Ethics Committee is still investigating Gaetz.
Other names that circulated as possible contenders for the position were Clark, Texas Governor Ken Paxton, Mike Davis of the Article III Project, former interim Attorney General Matt Whitaker, and Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO).
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Matt Gaetz” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
