American Battleground: Trump assembles his wrecking crew as he tries to take on Washington

For the MAGA faithful, Matt Gaetz might be the perfect pick for US attorney general.

For the MAGA faithful, Matt Gaetz might be the perfect pick for US attorney general. The Florida congressman has defended Donald Trump at every turn, embraced the lie of a stolen 2020 election and pushed the idea that perhaps Trump supporters weren’t really responsible for the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. When Trump was on trial in New York in his hush money case and on his way to being convicted, Gaetz joined the procession of Republicans trouping in to support their leader. Along with a photo of himself standing behind Trump, Gaetz posted a phrase associated with the far-right, extremist Proud Boys: “Standing back and standing by, Mr. President.” On Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, the president-elect writes in mid-November, “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.” A shockwave rolls through that department, which Gaetz has called so partisan it should be radically reformed or abolished. Then something at least modestly peculiar happens. Gaetz resigns his House seat. Some Republicans say by stepping down from the 118th Congress promptly, Gaetz could help the party quickly replace him through a special election, protecting one more vote in the next Congress for Trump’s agenda. But critics note a detail: His resignation will halt a long investigation of Gaetz by the House Ethics Committee. And suddenly here is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, another Trump booster, saying since the Cabinet pick from Florida is no longer in Congress, any findings should remain sealed. “I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report,” Johnson says. For a brief time, the buttress holds. But information from the investigation is soon splintering off to lawmakers and the media. The rumbles grow more intense, and everything comes crashing down. Not too many days after Gaetz is tapped for the top law enforcement job in America, his coveted nomination is in ruins. He bows out to the disappointment of Trump and the relief of some who were to sit in judgment. “There were a lot of Republican senators who were concerned about defying Trump,” CNN’s Manu Raju reports from Capitol Hill, “but just could not get themselves to supporting Matt Gaetz’s nomination.”