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President-elect Donald Trump is quickly moving to form his Cabinet. He nominated Florida’s Marco Rubio, a three-term veteran of the Senate, to be the next secretary of state. Rubio has bipartisan support for the job.
Trump’s most surprising nomination is that of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the next attorney general. Political insiders expected Trump to pick a more conventional candidate, perhaps Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
Trump’s decision to nominate Gaetz had many suggesting he had diminished his political goodwill among congressional supporters. Others suggested that Gaetz made Trump a deal. It was a deal Trump could not refuse.
If confirmed, Gaetz would replace Merrick B. Garland, former president Barack Obama’s failed nominee to the Supreme Court. Garland is overseeing special counsel Jack Smith’s federal records case against Trump.
Garland and his associates approved the FBI’s 2022 raid on Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate. Smith argued that Trump failed to return federal records to the National Archives.
When Smith found classified government documents in Trump’s possession, he expanded his case against the former president. In the process of returning records, Trump claimed he had a right to them.
Also, in 2022, the FBI found confidential government records at President Biden’s Delaware home. The FBI brought no charges against Biden.
After Trump nominated Gaetz, the special counsel and his legal team announced they would resign before Trump takes office. It is expected that the next Congress will investigate Smith and his team.
Trump’s nomination of Gaetz, 42, created a political earthquake in Washington. Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Gaetz humiliated Garland for assigning one of his attorneys to prosecute Trump in the New York cases involving alleged “hush money” payments and alleged real estate fraud.
Washington is eagerly waiting to see Garland and Gaetz shaking hands, smiling, and working on the Trump transition. Gaetz would be within his rights as attorney general-designate to review Garland’s files on the Trump prosecutions. Gaetz and Trump might suspect Garland lied to Congress about his involvement in the cases.
Several members of Congress, including former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said Gaetz has no chance of being confirmed as attorney general. Trump and Gaetz know confirmation will be tough.
Gaetz was under an investigation by the House Ethics Committee stemming from an FBI investigation of the Florida congressman for sex trafficking. In 2023, the FBI dropped its charges against Gaetz. The House Ethics Committee was on the verge of issuing a report that reportedly found Gaetz acted unethically in the case.
McCarthy said Gaetz asked him to end the Ethics Committee’s probe. When McCarthy refused, Gaetz led a House Republican revolt that ended McCarthy’s speakership. Gaetz is a brilliant tactician.
Time seems to be on Gaetz’s side. After being sworn in as president, Trump could legally appoint Gaetz as attorney general for a fixed amount of time. Why would the president do this?
Trump might want Gaetz to release hundreds of thousands of classified documents from Smith’s and Hillary Clinton’s files. Gaetz might want to release the FBI’s files that cleared him on the sex trafficking charges. This might undercut the Ethics Committee’s report. If this is the deal Gaetz made with Trump, it seems time is on their side. After releasing the FBI files, Gaetz could pursue a political career in Florida.
With Rubio expected to get quick Senate confirmation as secretary of state, Florida will have a Senate vacancy. Gov. Ron De Santis must appoint Rubio’s temporary replacement until an election is held. Gaetz could become Florida’s new senator by appointment or election.
Some on Capitol Hill suggest that Gaetz’s nomination is political publicity for his possible gubernatorial campaign in 2026. Whether Gaetz seeks Rubio’s seat or DeSantis’s office in Tallahassee, he will be in the news for the next few months. Again, Gaetz is a brilliant tactician.
Gaetz’s confirmation hearings, if they occur, are eagerly expected. Leaks of Gaetz’s House Ethics Committee report are also eagerly anticipated.
New Year’s Eve fireworks may be just the beginning of more political explosions in 2025.
