Trump names hugely divisive MAGA firebrand Matt Gaetz as Attorney General setting up showdown to test Republican loyalty

DONALD Trump has sent shockwaves across Washington after naming Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General – his most controversial cabinet pick so far.

Even members of the Republican party were left baffled after the scandal-prone right-winger was tapped for the nation’s chief law enforcement role.

Gaetz was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he has now been tapped to lead – and has been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct.

However, the probe practically died on Wednesday when Gaetz resigned from Congress “effective immediately” after being nominated for the role.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.

Trump has now set up a showdown to test Republican loyalty by naming Gaetz for the role – just days after he demanded Senate Republicans allow recess appointments as he forms his cabinet.

It means he would be able to appoint members of his Cabinet without the 50 votes needed in the Senate. 

The decision to name Gaetz as the new Attorney General baffled many Republicans who say the move was not on their “bingo card”.

“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told NBC News.

“We need to have a serious attorney general. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card,” she added.

Max Miller, the Republican congressman from Ohio told Axios: “Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the Senate.”

He also told Politico that Gaetz is “a reckless pick” with “a zero per cent shot”.

John Bolton, a former national security adviser, told NBC News: “[Gaetz] must be the worst nomination for a cabinet position in American history.

“He is not only totally incompetent for this job, he doesn’t have the character. He is a person of moral turpitude.”

Some of Gaetz’s allies in the House defended him as Trump’s pick, pointing to his experience as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Asked Wednesday whether she thinks Gaetz could be confirmed, Anna Paulina Luna, a fellow Florida Republican, told reporters that many will try to smear him, but the evidence will speak for itself.

The federal sex trafficking investigation that began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump’s first term was focused on allegations that Gaetz and political ally Joel Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.

But the Ethics committee will now have no jurisdiction to investigate Gaetz since he is no longer a member of Congress – and its findings may never see the light of day.

A panel was scheduled to meet on Friday to vote on whether or not to release the report about Gaetz, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill.

After Gaetz got the attorney general nod, House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest told reporters: “Once a member is no longer a member of Congress, then Ethics has no jurisdiction.

“So if Matt Gaetz were to be appointed as the attorney general, the Ethics investigation that is currently ongoing would cease at that point.”

‘TRUMP CARD’

This has turned out to be a “Trump card” for Gaetz who is now bracing to face the already-sceptical Senate.

If he wins Senate approval, the MAGA firebrand Republican could direct the government’s legal positions on some of the biggest issues – including abortion, civil rights, and First Amendment cases.

Trump’s attorney general is expected to oversee radical changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trump’s ire over two criminal cases it brought accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz wrote: “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!”

Trump said of Gaetz’s nomination: “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.

“Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney […] who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” Trump wrote on his social media site.

He went on to highlight Gaetz playing “a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax.”

The Florida congressman is the latest in a string of nominations of those who aligned with Trump’s ideologies as he prepares to take on the White House

On Tuesday, the president-elect tapped tech mogul Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswami to lead the newly forged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Trump said in a statement on Tuesday that he will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies”

In response, the X CEO said: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”

Musk’s proximity to Trump is set to make him one of the most powerful people on the planet.

He has reportedly spent “nearly every day” at Mar-a-Lago since Trump’s crushing election victory last week.

Last week, Trump made history after naming Republican presidential campaign boss Susie Wiles as the White House chief of staff.

Wiles is said to be one of the most feared political operatives in America – and will now be the first woman to hold the highly-powerful position.

The senior advisor to Trump masterminded many of his pivotal moments from the campaign – and helped him dominate against the Democrats when America took to the polls.

She was among the list of people Trump first thanked before his win was even officially announced.