TRUMP AG DRAMA: GAETZ WITH DRAWS, PAM BONDI IS NAMED

In a day of heightened political drama, scandal-tinged former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from being President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General – which was quickly followed by the news that Trump is naming his former defense attorney, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Next to Gaetz, Bondi looks like Mother Teresa.

The Bulwark offers these details on ow the axe fell on Gaetz:

Eight days after making the snap decision to nominate Matt Gaetz to be the nation’s next attorney general, Trump phoned him Thursday morning to tell him he wouldn’t get confirmed, according to a source briefed on the conversation. The president-elect explained that Republican senators were too troubled by the sex scandals and investigations surrounding Gaetz and that the constant and salacious distractions had doomed him.

“You don’t have the votes,” Trump said, according to the source. “These senators aren’t moving.”

Another source familiar with the conversation between Trump and Gaetz said Gaetz had acknowledged he had between four and six Republican votes against him. He could only lose three.

“The writing was on the wall. Gaetz fell on his sword,” the source said, calling the decision a mutually understood acceptance of political reality.

Gaetz had repeatedly told others he would stay in the hunt for the nomination unless Trump signaled it had become a distraction. That signal came Thursday.

Gaetz then earned a place in history:

If it seems like only a week ago that President-elect Donald Trump named then-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) as his pick to serve as attorney general in his incoming administration, that’s because it was only a week ago that Trump announced Gaetz as his pick.

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Well, eight days, in fairness; Trump made the announcement on Nov. 13, eight days after the presidential election. So while Gaetz doesn’t hold the record for how quickly a potential member of an incoming presidential Cabinet withdrew from consideration — he’s tied with George W. Bush nominee Linda Chavez — he holds the record for the fastest withdrawal in the transition period.

The naming of Pam Bondi quickly followed:

President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Thursday that he would nominate Pam Bondi to be attorney general, turning to a longtime loyalist who served as state attorney general in Florida to put his stamp on a Justice Department that he sees as politically hostile to him.

Mr. Trump announced her selection hours after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration amid a growing consensus that he could not be confirmed by the Senate because of allegations that he had taken part in drug-fueled sex parties.

Mr. Trump has been keen to install a close ally to head the Justice Department, which he has vowed to purge of what he calls “deep state” foes — suggesting an end to a longstanding practice of Justice Department criminal investigations operating independent of White House direction or interference.

Ms. Bondi, 59, served on Mr. Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment and currently leads the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank that has kept close ties to Mr. Trump’s transition team. Ms. Bondi oversaw the filing of voting-related lawsuits in battleground states.

And:

Toward the end of Mr. Trump’s campaign, she also began to appear more frequently as a surrogate at his rallies, particularly as he tried to showcase his support with women.

“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post announcing his selection. “I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”

[…]Ms. Bondi is close to the incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who has extensive ties in Florida politics.

{,,,}During Mr. Trump’s first campaign for president, she faced questions about a $25,000 donation years earlier from Mr. Trump. She denied that the donation played any role in her office’s decision not to pursue an investigation into Trump University.

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