Gaetz’s attorney general nomination met with shock from lawmakers

Donald Trump’s nomination of fellow Florida Republican Matt Gaetz for attorney general has caused shock among several of Gaetz’s fellow lawmakers.

The president-elect announced his pick to head up the Department of Justice in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, and the bipartisan pushback against the widely disliked representative from Chipley was swift.

On CNN, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called the nomination a “red alert moment for American Democracy” and conveyed the shock he saw in the upper chamber. 

“You could literally hear the jaws dropping to the floor of Republican senators who are now going to be in a position to stand up to Donald Trump in a way that they have been unwilling to,” Murphy told Jake Tapper.
“[Gaetz] will implement Donald Trump’s transition of the Department of Justice from an agency that stands up for all of us to an agency that is simply an arm of the White House designed to persecute and prosecute Trump’s political enemies.” 

Reporters for Punchbowl News and the Washington Post said the reactions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers ranged from surprise to amusement. 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told reporter Max Cohen she was “shocked at the nomination.” Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) said that “no one could believe” the news. Sen. Chuck Grassley reportedly fell completely silent when confronted with questions about the nom. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) offered some local color, calling the Gaetz pick an “uff da.” 

“I don’t know what to make of it,” he said.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson offered the most blunt reaction. According to Huffington Post reporter Jonathan Nicholson, he responded to the news with an incredulous “Are you sh**tin’ me?”

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said that Gaetz faces an uphill battle, telling reporter Burgess Everett that they’re “not going to get a single Democrat” to vote for his confirmation.

Despite the seeming resistance to his nomination, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shared that Gaetz has already tendered his resignation from the House.