Gaetz won’t be first of Trump’s controversial picks to face scrutiny
Donald Trump has pledged for years to surround himself in this second White House term with ultra-loyalists who can mould his government to his vision. That is precisely why he picked Matt Gaetz.
Uniquely unpopular on Capitol Hill but ultra-MAGA and ultra-loyal to the president-elect, Gaetz was chosen by the president-elect to do his bidding inside the Justice Department as attorney general.
Critics called the pick “a red alert moment for democracy” and the man a “gonzo agent of chaos” – language that would surely only affirm Mr Trump’s decision in his own proudly disruptive mind.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the president-elect is himself a convicted felon, and a man found liable in a civil court for his own sexual offences, the prospect of Gaetz making it through the nomination process would have seemed remote.
But Mr Trump’s return to the White House, baggage and all, suggested to critics of Gaetz that anything is possible.
The Justice Department, which Mr Trump wanted Gaetz to lead, investigated him for allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and violated sex trafficking laws. No charges were ever brought.
But a separate House Ethics Committee report was due, this week, to release a report alleging that he had “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favours to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct”.
It’s claimed that Trump’s decision to pick Gaetz was hatched during a flight to Washington on his private jet last week. It’s claimed that even his incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles was unaware of the decision.
Other Trump loyalists had suggested the incoming president might try to force the appointment through as a ‘recess appointment’, a mechanism of bypassing the required Senate approval.
We do not know the motivation behind Gaetz’s decision (if it was indeed his) to drop out. But it won’t be the first of Mr Trump’s controversial picks for his inner circle that will face scrutiny.
His pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, is combatting his own alleged sexual impropriety and his pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has been accused of being a Putin and Assad apologist. They will both face tough approval hearings before their nominations can be confirmed.
Other key appointments remain unannounced including director of the FBI and treasury secretary.
