Trump is determined to see Gaetz confirmed as AG despite controversies

President-elect Donald Trump is pressing forward with his decision to put forward former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, despite widespread unease on Capitol Hill about entrusting the Justice Department to a figure with limited legal experience who has recently faced investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct.

President-elect Donald Trump is pressing forward with his decision to put forward former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, despite widespread unease on Capitol Hill about entrusting the Justice Department to a figure with limited legal experience who has recently faced investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct. Trump’s insistence on the controversial pick has drawn warnings from allies and lawmakers, who caution that Gaetz faces an uphill climb to secure the 51 votes needed for Senate confirmation. There is growing concern, too, that the spectacle of a Gaetz confirmation hearing might overshadow the priorities on which Trump has spent the last two years campaigning and for which he received a mandate to push through with his victory this month. Yet the president-elect has made clear that he views Gaetz as the most important member of the Cabinet he is quickly assembling, sources with knowledge of Trump’s thinking told CNN, and he considers the nomination of the former Florida congressman an urgent priority for the incoming GOP majority in the Senate. Trump wants Gaetz confirmed “100%,” a source told CNN. “He is not going to back off. He’s all in.” Trump made his pick for attorney general hastily amid dissatisfaction with other potential candidates, but he has nevertheless grown enamored with the idea of having a political arsonist like Gaetz overseeing his promises to dismantle the Justice Department. He also believes Gaetz is uniquely positioned to defend the Trump administration on television, an attribute prioritized by the president-elect. Trump’s pick for deputy attorney general — his defense attorney Todd Blanche — will carry out the day-to-day work of overseeing the Justice Department’s more than 40 agencies and 115,000 employees. But Gaetz’s selection was almost immediately complicated by an existing House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of misconduct, including “sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.” Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump’s announcement and shortly before the committee was expected to release details of its findings. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.