Donald Trump chooses firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz to run Justice Department as attorney general

WASHINGTON ? President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday he chose Rep. Matt Gaetz, a firebrand lawmaker who has been a harsh critic of the Justice Department, even as he was investigated by it, as attorney general.

The Florida Republican has been a vocal critic of the department from his seat on the Judiciary Committee and a staunch defender of Trump. Gaetz accused Attorney General Merrick Garland of weaponizing the department and called President Joe Biden "senile" in a hearing over his handling of classified documents. Gaetz also accused FBI Director Christopher Wray of being "blissfully ignorant" about how agents ran their investigations.

Gaetz demonstrated his willingness to fight the Washington establishment by opposing the election of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and nearly scuffling with other lawmakers on the House floor during the dispute. McCarthy supported a Republican rival against Gaetz in the Florida primary this year, but Gaetz won.

“Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.”

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Gaetz accepted in a post on social media.

"It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!" Gaetz wrote.

Some GOP senators question Gaetz choice

Trump's choice surprised some Republican senators Gaetz would need to win a confirmation vote.

“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "We need to have a serious attorney general and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody who is serious."

“This one was not on my bingo card," Murkowski added.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was "shocked" to learn of Trump's choice of Gaetz.

“This is why the advice and consent process is so important," Collins said. "I’m sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing. Obviously the president has the right to nominate whoever he wishes but I'm certain there will be a lot of questions."

But Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., whom Trump picked to become secretary of state, said he expected Gaetz would win confirmation because senators should defer to Trump's preferences for his Cabinet.

“I think he will because presidents deserve great deference,” Rubio said. The president “has a right to surround himself with people he trusts," he said.

Gaetz's lack of prosecution experience unusual for attorney general

Attorneys general have traditionally had experience as federal prosecutors, a potential point of contention when the Senate holds its confirmation hearing for Gaetz, who served in private practice before becoming a lawmaker.

Gaetz earned his bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a law degree from William & Mary Law School in Virginia. He worked in private practice before serving in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016 and winning election to the U.S. House the same year Trump was first elected president.

Top Justice Department and White House lawyers had threatened to quit over Trump's attempt to name an assistant attorney general, Jeffrey Clark, as acting attorney general near the end of his first term. Clark had practiced environmental law, but had never been prosecutor.

“You’re an environmental lawyer,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue told Clark during an Oval Office showdown Jan. 3, 2021. “How about you go back to your office, and we'll call you when there's an oil spill."

What did DOJ investigate Gaetz for?

Gaetz was investigated by the Justice Department as part of a sex-trafficking case, but the department decided against charging the lawmaker.

"We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice, and they have determined not to bring any charges against him," Gaetz attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner announced in February 2023.

Former Seminole County tax collector Jeff Greenberg pleaded guilty to six of 33 federal charges against him: sex trafficking a minor, creating a fake ID, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. Gaetz was investigated over whether he had sex with the same 17-year-old girl Greenberg admitted trafficking.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating Gaetz and said in June it was expanding the probe to include additional allegations. The committee is looking into a variety of claims that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, accepted “improper gifts” and gave out special favors. Gaetz denied the allegations blamed the inquiry on McCarthy.

“The lawful, consensual sexual activities of adults are not the business of Congress,” Gaetz wrote in a letter posted to social media in September.

Gaetz and Trump have each been longtime critics of DOJ

The Justice Department has more than 100,000 workers covering a broad range of interests. The department prosecutes federal criminal laws through U.S attorneys offices and through its main headquarters, and brings civil lawsuits to enforce civil rights and antitrust laws. The department oversees agencies such as the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons.

Trump was at loggerheads with the department for much of his first administration because of investigations of his aides and himself. He has since threatened to investigate rivals such as President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Trump has also threatened to investigate Garland and special counsel Jack Smith, who secured two indictments against him.

Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned weeks into the term after lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian ambassador before Trump's inauguration. Flynn was convicted and Trump pardoned him after the 2020 election.

Trump fired his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for recusing himself from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, a former longtime FBI director, to investigate in what Trump called a partisan witch hunt.

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Mueller and the intelligence community found Russia had interfered with the election to favor Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but that Trump’s campaign had not cooperated with the interference.

Mueller didn’t make any decisions on whether to charge Trump for obstruction of his investigation because of longstanding department policy against charging a sitting president.

After Trump left office, special counsel Jack Smith secured two indictments against Trump. One alleged he conspired to steal the 2020 election and obstruct Congress from counting Electoral College votes. The other alleged he unlawfully retained classified documents after leaving the White House.

But Smith is winding down the two federal criminal cases against Trump under the same department policy against trying a sitting president.

One judge has given Smith to Dec. 2 to explain his plans for the election interference case. Another judge dismissed charges dealing with classified documents by ruling Smith was appointed illegitimately. Smith has appealed, but he is expected to drop that appeal.

Trump had strongly opposed Smith's decison to release a summary of the evidence in the election interference case before the election because he didn’t have a chance to refute the claims.

Trump and House Republicans have threatened to investigate Smith, whose investigation the former president criticized as a partisan witch hunt by the administration of his Democratic rival, Biden. Biden and Garland have denied a political motive.

“They ought to throw Deranged Jack Smith and his Thug Prosecutors in jail, with Meritless Garland and Trump Hating Lisa Monaco,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social in July 2023, referring to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “They have totally Weaponized the Department of Injustice.”

Two House chairmen ? Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, at the Judiciary Committee and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., at the Administration subcommittee on oversight ? wrote Smith on Nov. 8 asking him to preserve all records from his investigation.

Garland, who appointed Smith, said Smith would follow the facts and the law.

Contributing: Sudiksha Kochi

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump chooses firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general