Victor Davis Hanson
Matt Gaetz/Attorney General
Matt Gaetz has been the most controversial of the Trump nominees so far. The odds were that he would not be confirmed—and he was not by default after withdrawing his nomination in anticipation of hostile confirmation questioning and attacks.
Gaetz certainly is a MAGA loyalist, a former target of the very agency he would direct, and professed that he would end DOJ excesses, ranging from unleashing the FBI against political enemies to waging lawfare against Donald Trump.
In the sense that he was selected to be the opposite of a nice-guy Jeff Sessions (who I think might have deduced that any special prosecutor appointment was a simple leftist device to advance the Russian collusion hoax to emasculate his boss), or doctrinaire Bill Barr who, while also a good man, let the DOJ apparat still run wild. (e.g., I think Barr should have thrown the book at partisan interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe for lying to federal investigators repeatedly).
The media, however, had a field day with what Biden would call the “ultra-MAGA” Gaetz, reminding the public he was once disbarred (failure to pay dues). He had been stopped and was cited for a DUI. And most notably, Gaetz was under both House Ethics Committee and DOJ investigations for alleged “child sex trafficking and statutory rape.”
The DOJ dropped the investigation, while the House Ethics investigation continued until Gaetz’s recent resignation following his AG nomination. But whatever the truth, the scent of reckless promiscuity with “young” women, regardless of their status, did not sync with the image of a sober and judicious diehard conservative—especially one who had lost the goodwill of his fellow House members who might have rallied to his defense (given that promiscuity is not unknown among power-hungry and often narcissistic politicians).
Republican senators also have expressed worry that Gaetz had zero prosecutorial and little if any administrative experience. From personal experience, they know him as a loose and embarrassing cannon, who might well have been guilty of some of the Ethics Committee’s charges—which remain unreleased.
But Republican critics’ greatest complaint was twofold:
Again, Gaetz had never tried a single case as a prosecutor and was without a shred of any prosecutorial experience—a fact that sort of terrified Republican senators who did not wish in the future to be tagged by opponents as voting for someone without any of the usual requisites.
Gaetz engineered the October 2023 removal of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, then at the pinnacle of his tenure, who had been successful in raising enough money and selecting enough electable candidates to take back the House for the Republicans in the midterm election of 2022. Lots of Republican senators had worked with McCarthy and liked him a lot more than they did Gaetz. And a still quite ubiquitous McCarthy let them know that.
At the time, given the resulting slim Republican House majority, most prominent Republicans felt it was nihilistic and suicidal for Gaetz to launch a long and protracted civil war between Republican conservatives and ultra-conservatives, simply to remove what both sides might have agreed was a recently successful Speaker McCarthy.
Thus, many Republicans never forgave the young, flamboyant, and always in-the-news Gaetz.
So, why did Trump spend political capital to nominate Gaetz when he knew that he would not receive one Democratic senator’s vote, and likely not enough Republican senators to vote against him to stop (even in committee) his nomination?
Loyalty to the die-hard MAGA Gaetz?
The idea of unleashing the snarling pitbull Gaetz upon a corrupt DOJ that had waged lawfare against Trump?
A good way to incite mass resignations of leftwing prosecutors from the DOJ?
Lots more theories abound. The most rumored and circulated is the weirdest, and as complex as it is impossible to believe, despite its undeniable logic.
Accordingly, House Republicans supposedly wanted the firebrand and recently reelected Gaetz out of the House, before he staged yet another internecine blood bath.
Thus, the Trump nomination as AG, predicated on Gaetz’s resignation from his recently won Florida House seat, accomplished that—especially given Gaetz would resign his House seat before confirmation hearings, perhaps in anxiety about the ongoing House Ethics Committee investigations and their (possibly damning?) report which is for now still suppressed.
Second, the conspiracy theory goes, those around Trump knew Gaetz might be stymied in committee. That would save rank-and-file Republican senators the embarrassment and media hits of voting out of loyalty for someone they knew might not be the best qualified to become U.S. Attorney General.
Third, after the inevitable Gaetz rejection, the MAGA ranks could then warn the Left that one nomination scalp was now enough, and they would now close ranks and ensure that all the other controversial nominees such as RFK, Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard would be steamrolled through.
Of course, such rumors are unfounded. And what does it matter now that Gaetz is gone before his fireworks confirmation hearings hurt Trump politically?
A final note on Gaetz: as promised—what exactly is the bar for recent attorneys general, and did Gaetz’s conduct really fall so far beneath accustomed AG standards?
(To be continued…)
Discussion (6)
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I think it was Bondi all along. One more "strong" woman in the cabinet. Sorry Mr. Cuban. The writing on the wall, behind the curtain, about Gaetz inevitable demise was expected, and a sort of "thank you, Matt, for your loyalty" from Trump. It was also just to shake up the progressives, get under their skin. What fun! Keep it up, Donald.
Ron Nixon’s comment reflects the exasperations of the Trump supporters. Add to that how the Democrats seem to win even when they lose. Our frustration and anger will only grow as our party reps need a B (Beta) rather than an R by their name.
My largest gripe about the whole thing is that the standards changed suddenly for many of these senators who confirmed Eric Holder and Merrick Garland (about 20 voted for each). I think the criticism of Gaetz’s lack of prosecutorial experience is fair. His main strength as a nominee is his lack of loyalty to the institution but is that enough to be effective?
Trump wins the popular vote and a decisive victory in the Electoral College, yet he can't pick his own cabinet. How crazy is that? He has razor thin majorities in the House and Senate, which means his MAGA agenda will probably stall or be filibustered. These separate fiefdoms have their own leaders and agendas that are.not necessarily aligned with Trump's. Even when we win we still lose.
The asymmetrical bar has been going on much too long in the United States. The peek of the madness in this country began after the George Floyd incident on May 25th 2020. It is still debatable, even after the Trump won, if this country can ever recover. The United States needs to get the legal immigration system in order, strict immigration rules, assimilation, and the need for everyone to learn to read and write in the English language. Anyone who thinks those are radical ideas hasn’t been in a Walmart, Target, Fast Food establishments, lately. Close to a majority of t there employees cannot speak English.
Good observations Professor. I think the below option is the one that makes most sense to me. If Gaetz got through relatively unscather then great, if not, yes, his scalp can be pointed to as the only one tolerated. "Third, after the inevitable Gaetz rejection, the MAGA ranks could then warn the Left that one nomination scalp was now enough, and they would now close ranks and ensure that all the other controversial nominees such as RFK, Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard would be steamrolled through." As far as McCarthy goes, he's the one that agreed to the "one vote" option to derail his Speakership if it came to that. Had he not agreed to that option, I don't believe he would have been voted in the affirmative for the Speakership. McCarthy aquising to the MAGA wing in the House at the time meant he had to fight harder for America First priorities. It was seen by Gaetz and others as a slap in their face and so, Gaetz did the deal. While I did nut enjoy the ensuing infihting I do believe it was essential to hold the line. Now with Pam Bondi I believe we have an AG nominee that will be much harder to vote down yet she will be (should be) every bit the tiger that Gaetz would have been only perhaps more polished.