The Rise and Fall of Matt Getz in Eight Wild Days

Eight tumultuous days after US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Matt Gaetz to be attorney general, the firebrand congressman has withdrawn from consideration for the post.

It was a nomination that stunned Washington and caused a stir in the corridors of the Justice Department.

According to reports, Trump met with Gaetz, 42, during a two-hour flight from Washington to Florida last week.

Still basking in the glow of his election victory, the president was flying back to West Palm Beach last Wednesday afternoon after a pleasant meeting with President-elect Joe Biden.

According to Politico, Gaetz wasn’t even on the shortlist for America’s top law enforcement officer that morning, but Trump had impressed himself with his other options.

On the so-called Trump Force One that day were Gaetz himself, Elon Musk, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and his top legal adviser, Boris Epstein, the New York Times reported.

Epstein reportedly tried to convince Trump that Gaetz should lead the Justice Department, which had conducted a sex-trafficking investigation against the lawmaker before dropping the case.

Gaetz, a lawyer, has been one of Trump’s staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill.

He helped prepare the Republican nominee for a televised debate against Biden that effectively put the Democrat out of the race for the White House.

A Trump adviser explained why the president-elect — who himself has been criminally investigated by the Justice Department, and his prosecutors accused of a witch hunt — singled out Gaetz over other contenders. .

Everyone else looked at AG [attorney general] It’s like he’s applying for a judicial appointment,” the unnamed aide told Bulwark.

“Getz was the only one who said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to go in there and start cutting.’ [expletive] Sir.

While Republicans on Capitol Hill reacted strongly to the nomination, career Justice Department lawyers told US media they were shocked and outraged.

Speaking at a conservative conference last year, Gaetz suggested that the Justice Department and its oversight agencies, including the FBI, should be abolished because, he argued, they were weapons against conservatives. is being made. Current Attorney General Merrick Garland has denied these claims.

Critics said Trump — who has also named three lawyers who have defended him in criminal cases for senior Justice Department positions — was more interested in hiring loyalists than appointees who are loyal to the law. Will maintain the rule.

John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, dismissed Gaetz as “the worst cabinet-level appointment in history.”

But the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said anger from the Washington establishment showed his father’s unorthodox cabinet picks were just the kind of change American voters elected him to initiate. was

After being nominated for attorney general last week, Gaetz resigned as the representative for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, a seat he has held since 2017.

His resignation came as the House Ethics Committee was set to decide whether to release a report on an investigation into allegations of drug, bribery and payments for sex, including abuse of a minor girl.

Getz dismissed the claims as a smear. But his resignation sparked a drip feed of leaks in the days that followed as the ethics panel wrangled over what to do with the report.

Meanwhile, few Republicans appeared ready to circle the wagons around one of the most unpopular lawmakers in the House.

Last year, the militant Gaetz came under fire from his own side of the aisle when he played a key role in ousting Republican Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Marquin Mullen, a former House member turned senator, told CNN that there was a reason at the time that none of Gaetz’s colleagues would defend him against sexual misconduct allegations.

“Because we’ve all seen the videos that he was showing on the House floor,” The Oklahoman accused Gaetz of bragging about his sexual abuse last October.

Gaetz said Mullen was lying.

As backlash over his nomination for attorney general began to unfold this week, Trump called senators in an effort to drum up support.

Trump appeared to be holding on to Gaetz as he and Musk attended Tuesday’s SpaceX rocket launch in Boca Chica, Texas.

Asked if he was reconsidering, the president-elect said: “No.”

There was more encouraging news for Gaetz on Wednesday as House Ethics Committee Republicans voted not to release their investigation into him.

It came as Vice President-elect J.D. Vance took the attorney general nominee around the Senate in a charm offensive.

Getz said it was a “great day.” But there were signs of turmoil ahead.

When asked how messy the confirmation process could get, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said the hearings could be “on steroids.”

As of Thursday morning, Trump was still calling Republican senators to assess Gaetz’s prospects.

But by lunchtime, the nominee had concluded he didn’t have the votes and once again shocked Washington with the announcement that he was showing himself the door.

“While the momentum was strong,” he posted on X, “it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly distracting from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition.”

Trump’s post on Truth Social confirms the about-face — his first political blow since his election 16 days ago — was unusually quiet for the president-elect.

“I greatly appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts in securing the nomination to become Attorney General,” he wrote, adding that the nominee did not want to be a “distraction.”

Hours later, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the post.

While Trump predicted a “brilliant future” for Gaetz, a question mark hangs over what he will do next.

He was comfortably re-elected this month, but a special election is already planned to fill his vacant seat.

Randy Ross, a Florida-based fundraiser for Trump, told the BBC that America had not heard the last of Matt Gaetz.

“My opinion is that there is still a place for this patriot in the future leadership of the Trump administration, Florida or our country,” Mr. Ross said. “We all look forward to his next steps.”

Meanwhile, Ginger Getz, who married the congressman in 2021, posted a vintage photo on X after the pair ditched on the steps on Capitol Hill.

“The end of an era,” he commented.