As attorney general, Gaetz would go from being under DOJ scrutiny to leading the nation’s top law enforcement agency
CNN
One career official described hearing audible cries of “oh my God” echoing down the hallway inside DOJ’s headquarters.
When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Matt Gaetz for attorney general, he elevated a MAGA firebrand with a penchant for stoking controversy and a history of getting out of trouble to lead a Justice Department that has investigated both men. Gaetz, a career politician with limited experience practicing law, resigned from his seat in Congress just hours after Trump announced earlier this week his intention to nominate him as the top federal law enforcement officer in the United States. The Florida Republican has a tense history with the Justice Department, clashing with officials during contentious oversight hearings where he accused the department of being “weaponized” against Trump and fellow conservatives and decrying the yearslong federal sex-crimes investigation of him that began during the Trump administration. (Prosecutors ultimately declined to charge him.) Gaetz would be able to take on the Justice Department from the inside, molding the institution and its law enforcement components, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, to fit his vision — and Trump’s. Democrats on Capitol Hill and some legal scholars have flatly said Gaetz is unqualified for the job, and even people close to Gaetz told CNN they are concerned he may not be a good fit at the department and may have trouble winning confirmation by the Senate if there’s a vote on his nomination. But many Republicans and Gaetz allies have touted his aggressive style as an essential attribute for an attorney general. Sources close to Trump said he sees Gaetz as an effective messenger of his agenda and believes his appointees to other top positions at the Justice Department can handle day-to-day duties.
A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be received by Election Day.
Protests and vigils are taking place nationwide after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis. Follow for live updates.
President Donald Trump continued his threats towards Greenland on Friday, as he insisted that if the United States did not act Russia or China would occupy it in the future.
President Donald Trump this week lashed out at congressional Republicans like he rarely has before.
A Border Patrol agent shot two people in Portland, Oregon, during a traffic stop after authorities said they were associated with a Venezuelan gang, another incident in a string of confrontations with federal authorities that have left Americans frustrated with immigration enforcement during the Trump administration.
The Bella 1 had been tailed by a US Coast Guard cutter across the Atlantic Ocean for almost two weeks when the ship’s crew employed a novel tactic to evade the US military: painting a Russian flag on its hull.
The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.
‘It’s uninvestible’: Trump’s Venezuela pitch met with skepticism from oil executives
FBI Director Kash Patel has named Christopher Raia, a seasoned career agent, to replace Dan Bongino as deputy director, according to people briefed on the matter.
President Donald Trump faced Republican defections on a series of split votes this week, but his willingness to call out members of his own party convinced some wavering lawmakers to stay in line.
Trump’s description of the Mexican trafficking world – one dominated by a few cartels that can be swiftly defeated – is at odds with how the crime organizations actually operate, experts say.
The Virginian man accused of planting two bombs in Washington, DC, five years ago pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of transporting and attempting to use explosives.
A US State Department team traveled to Venezuela on Friday for the first time since the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, according to a US official. CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon reports from Bogota.