Matt Gaetz is emerging as the Trump pick Republicans are prepared to dunk on

• Trump's nomination of Matt Gaetz for US Attorney General is a controversial choice.
• Gaetz's appointment will need Senate confirmation, and that could be tough to secure.
• GOP lawmakers who are otherwise loyal to the president-elect are already dunking on Gaetz.

Amid a series of attention-grabbing cabinet picks, perhaps no choice has drawn more attention than President-elect Donald Trump's decision to nominate GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as the next US Attorney General.

Gaetz is a polarizing figure, even within the Republican Party.

His appointment will require Senate confirmation, and while Republicans will hold a majority in the Senate, several GOP lawmakers have already signaled that they are less than pleased with this controversial pick.

While other nominees — such as former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary — have raised eyebrows, Gaetz stands out as the one pick Republicans seem eager to criticize.

Gaetz was previously subject to sex trafficking allegations, which arose after the Department of Justice opened an investigation into him in April 2021.

Although the agency ultimately declined to press charges, Gaetz was until recently being probed by the House Ethics Committee. However, his abrupt resignation from the House following his nomination on Wednesday means the committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him, per The New York Times.

Further complicating his support among Republicans, Gaetz also led the charge to oust Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker last year, a move that led to significant friction within the party.

Even some Trump loyalists have expressed surprise at the Gaetz nomination.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma

Mullin is a staunch Trump supporter who backed his baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and was even rumored as a potential cabinet pick.

But that didn't stop him from offering less than full-throated support for the Gaetz nomination.

Appearing on CNN, he said: "Matt Gaetz and I, there's no question that we've had our differences."

While expressing trust in "Trump's decision-making on this one," Mullin said that Gaetz would have to make his case in the Senate.

"There's a lot of questions that are going to be out there," he told CNN. "He's got to answer those questions, and hopefully, he's able to answer those questions right, and if he can, we'll go through the confirmation process."

Those differences refer to comments Mullin made to CNN last year, around the time Gaetz brought a motion to oust McCarthy.

Mullin said, "There's a reason why no one in the Congress came and defended" Gaetz in the aftermath of sex trafficking allegations.

He went on to allege that Gaetz would brag about his sexual escapades on the House floor.

Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota

Cramer, a loyal supporter of Trump since endorsing him early in his 2016 campaign, expressed surprise at Gaetz's nomination.

According to Ramsey Touchberry of the Washington Examiner, Cramer was taken aback by the Gaetz pick.

"That's an uff da," Cramer said, per Touchberry's X post. "Huh, I don't know what to make of it."

The Minnesota Monthly describes "uff da" as implying "exhaustion, frustration, confusion, surprise, and mild repulsion."

Responding to questions from CBS News reporter Cristina Corujo, Cramer said that Gaetz's nomination was a "surprise" and an "interesting pick."

He also said he doesn't know Gaetz very well and thinks he has the academic credentials, but said he is concerned with how he "handled the squabble with Speaker McCarthy. I thought it was unnecessary, I thought it was divisive."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas

Cornyn, another reliable Trump ally, also seemed shocked by the Gaetz pick.

According to Punchbowl News reporter Samantha Handler, he gave an "audible snort" when asked about it.

Alex Bolton, a staff writer for The Hill, said in an X post that a "surprised or shocked look" flashed across Cornyn's face "like he tasted something strange," when asked about Gaetz.

Cornyn told HuffPost reporter Arthur Delaney: "I don't know the man other than his public persona."

According to Max Cohen, another Punchbowl News reporter, Cornyn was asked about Gaetz's status as the subject of a House Ethics investigation.

"Well, that might come up," Cornyn told reporters.

Rep. Max Miller of Ohio

Though he won't get to vote on Gaetz, Miller had some choice words on his fellow Republican lawmaker.

The GOP congressman, who has previously praised Trump as "the greatest POTUS this country has ever had," told CNN's Haley Talbot that Gaetz is "a guy who is literally worse than the gum on the bottom of my shoe."

Per Talbot, Miller also accused Gaetz of wrecking the country and said he "ran around here last term like a six-year-old with a loaded revolver and a happy trigger finger."