Nominee Swap
I’ve said publicly, here and elsewhere, that the nomination of now-former Congressman Matt Gaetz to be U.S. Attorney General was not only a surprise…there was something a little fishy about the whole thing.
Apparently, the idea was floated and came together quickly, with the new Chief of Staff out of the loop. It led to his immediate resignation from Congress just days before an Ethics Committee report was to be released concerning allegations of improper sexual activity and drug use…often, a nominee does not give up their current job until confirmed for the new one. And, of course, there are the allegations in the report themselves.
After a day of intense visits with senators on Capitol Hill, it looked like the votes were not there, and reports are that the President-Elect made Gaetz aware of that and he withdrew his name–that was the outcome, anyway.
Now what for Gaetz? He resigned from the current Congress, and put in writing he did not intend to take the oath to serve in the new one. Smart money says he’ll quietly take a job in Trump 2.0 that does not require Senate confirmation, but that remains to be seen.
And obviously the Trump team was ready, within just a few hours nominating former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the national post; for some on the left, it’s a case of “be careful what you wish for,” since Bondi has experience in a similar job at the state level and by all accounts is quite competent. Trump opponents may have preferred someone less competent in the role…like Gaetz.
If he was the nominee with the biggest hurdles to climb, the naysayers now turn to whoever was next on the list and see if they can torpedo another nomination. Pete Hegseth seems to be their current target, with Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy, Jr., close behind.
I have never interviewed or met former Congressman Gaetz, so I have no idea about anything about him other than what I’ve seen in the media, just like you. We may know more of the back story some day…but until then, it still seems like there was something fishy about the nomination, and perhaps Mr. Trump now has the one he really wanted in the post all along.
