Surprise twist: Matt Gaetz withdraws from attorney general nomination
Trump’s pick to run the US Justice Department has crumbled, are more to follow?
A week of relentless drama in the American political arena came to a close this afternoon following the shock announcement that Matt Gaetz, Trump’s controversial selection for attorney general, has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Gaetz announced this afternoon that, after meeting with Senators, “it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition”.
Trump’s nomination for Gaetz to serve as America’s chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the federal government caused chaos from the moment it was announced as media outlets, Democrats, and Republicans pounced on the Congressman's many scandals. For years, Gaetz has been plagued by allegations that he has engaged with prostitutes, done hard drugs, and in one instance, slept with an underage girl.
Gaetz also famously sabotaged centre-right Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in 2023 by filing a motion for his removal. Gaetz’s rebellion worked, and McCarthy was usurped, allegedly for caving to Democrat budget demands.
After his ouster however, McCarthy accused Gaetz of engineering the coup to torpedo an ethics inquiry into himself stemming from an accusation that Gaetz had committed statutory rape. A separate DOJ investigation looked into the claims put forward by a 17-year-old, but ultimately no charges were filed.
Despite the inconclusive investigation, many Democrats fumed, pointing to the glaring double standard of the ethics committees which had blocked a candidate for attorney general candidate in the Clinton era on the grounds that they had once hired a babysitter who was undocumented.
The drama of Gaetz’s scandal accelerated this week as more details of the House ethics committee came to light. According to reports, two women told the ethics committee that Gaetz had paid them for sex, and the New York Times has revealed that the inquiry traced dozens of payments from the Congressman to associates engaged in prostitution and sex trafficking.
It appears this most recent “web of payments” revelation was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and despite numerous affirmations that he would fight for the nomination through the Senate voting process, Gaetz capitulated.
His cabinet nomination is far from the only one plagued by controversy as several other Trump nominees may not see the light of day. A few Senators from both sides of the aisle have vowed to block the appointments of RFK Jr for health secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Security. Other stunning picks include Linda McMahon, a former executive for world-wide wrestling as education secretary and TV-doctor Mehmet Oz to lead the nation’s medicare and medicaid services. Both questionable picks as well.
Trump’s first term was a carnival of internal strife, sackings, and contentious – at times nonsensical – selections for top government roles. It appears that little has changed, and despite airing on the side of loyalists, Trump’s staffing dramas have only just begun.
Josh Schlicht
Reaction Reporter
ON REACTION TODAY
David Waywell
Shock and Politics
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