Donald Trump has been on a roll since his decisive victory over Kamala Harris, basking in the glow of his victory and working at breakneck speed to nominate loyalists to top jobs in his incoming administration.
Last weekend, the president-elect received a hero’s welcome from the crowd at a packed UFC fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Earlier this week, he went to Brownsville, Texas to watch the SpaceX Starship rocket launch with billionaire confidant Elon Musk.
But by the end of the week, the party was over. Former congressman and Trump loyalist Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration to become U.S. attorney general on Thursday afternoon, amid allegations of sexual misconduct and a growing sense on Capitol Hill that he could circumvent the Senate’s tough confirmation process. won’t make it through
Gaetz’s decision dealt the president-elect his first major political blow after winning four more years in the White House, forcing him to scramble to find a replacement for a top Cabinet post.
As of Thursday evening, Trump tapped Pam Bondi, another Floridian and former Sunshine State attorney general, to head the Justice Department. But the Getz flop has managed to use up some valuable early political capital for Trump.
In a post on X, Gaetz – who has denied all allegations of wrongdoing – said his nomination was “unfairly distracting from the important work of the Trump/Vance nomination”. Trump in turn praised the former Florida lawmaker in a post on his Sach social platform, saying conservatives have a “fantastic future” ahead of him.
Gaetz’s abrupt withdrawal from consideration has left Washington speculating about whether other controversial Trump picks may fail, and has sparked panic among some Trump allies.
Questions have already been raised about whether Defense Secretary nominee Pat Hegseth — a former Fox News host who has proposed firing top military leaders and faced allegations of sexual misconduct — or Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence was Tulsi Gabbard – a former Democratic congresswoman. which has praised Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and accused the Kremlin of parroting propaganda. A similar fate may befall Capitol Hill.
Hegseth has never been charged with a crime and has denied all wrongdoing. But like Gaetz, he has spent this week on Capitol Hill making an aggressive push to win the support of lawmakers for his nomination, along with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
The failure of Trump’s number one pick for attorney general to even advance to the early stages of the Senate vetting process has created an inner circle. is the biggest blow to their efforts to advance their aggressive domestic agenda.
The DoJ is central to Trump’s plans to exact “revenge” on those he deems wrong — including himself. He has also threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” outgoing US President Joe Biden and his family.
Many legal experts and Trump allies had expected that if confirmed, Gaetz — one of Trump’s staunchest defenders and one of the most vocal critics of the DOJ under Biden — would come. Some will be hesitant to take orders from the President.
Gaetz made headlines last year when he told an audience of conservative activists that he and other Trump allies would bring the DoJ and other federal agencies to “heel.”
“We’re either going to withdraw this government or we’re going to defund, and get rid of, get rid of. . . . every last one of them,” he said in March 2023.
Earlier this month, Steve Bannon, a former top Trump adviser, told NBC News that the president-elect is “going to hit the Justice Department with a blowtorch and Matt Gaetz is that torch.”
As he announced that Bondi would replace Gatz at the Justice Department, Trump suggested that he was very much in tune with his plans.
“For too long, the partisan Justice Department has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — no longer. Pam will refocus the DOJ on its intended mission of fighting crime and making America safe again,” Trump told Truth. On Social, he added that he had known her for years and that she was an “America’s first fighter.”
Before selecting Bondi, Georgetown law professor Paul Butler said the “working hypothesis” should be that Trump is seeking retribution and will “nominate someone for attorney general who is willing to do that.” be”.
Bondi, who is known to be a close associate of Susie Wiles, who will serve as Trump’s second term chief of staff, is expected to be more easily confirmed by the Senate.
Since leaving the Florida attorney general’s office in 2019, she has worked as a lobbyist at Ballard Partners, which has offices in Florida and Washington and has close ties to Trump’s inner circle.
But Bondi is no moderate: After the 2020 election, she supported Trump’s claims that the race against Biden was rigged. She will now retrace the steps of Gaetz on Capitol Hill to lobby senators for her confirmation in the next few days and weeks.
But even if he has an easier time of it than Gaetz, the drama surrounding him has offered Democrats the first opportunity to attack Trump as the best candidate to lead his second administration. Failed to use.
“A qualified nominee for the highest law enforcement office in the United States must be honest and thorough in his background disclosure. Mr. Gaetz did not meet that standard,” the Senate Judiciary said Thursday afternoon. said committee chairman Dick Durbin.
Additional reporting by Alex Rogers in Palm Beach
