The choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general is not a stunt, an opportunity to troll the libs, or a ploy to sneak in other (slightly less) controversial cabinet choices.
According to confidantes and allies, Donald Trump is dead serious about putting the combative politician in charge of his fight against the people he accuses of a witch hunt against him.
Still, the appointment surprised many around Trump and led to claims that the former president had gone freelance and only made the decision Wednesday while Gaetz was traveling with him on his plane and while Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, was in another cabin.
That is not the case, according to a series of insiders familiar with Trump’s thinking.
The announcement may have come as a surprise when it landed on Truth Social, but Trump confidantes said his name had long been in focus as the logical choice to overhaul a Justice Department accused of weaponizing the justice system.
“This is where you’re going to clean up the Justice Department,” said John Fredericks, radio host and chairman of Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns in Virginia.
“It’s not business as usual… the lawsuits, the arming of the government, all the things that we’ve seen and that we’ve all experienced.
“The Matt Gaetz nomination for the Department of Justice is a clear signal that those days are over, and those people need to pack their bags and get out of town as quickly as possible.”
Matt Gaetz flew aboard ‘Trump Force One’ on Wednesday. He is seen here disembarking with Trump Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles and Taylor Budowich, Deputy Chief of Staff
Donald Trump flew into Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday on his way to the White House
It meant Trump chose a controversial figure with a reputation as a provocateur, who was disliked by many of his colleagues in Congress and who was at the center of an ethics investigation in the House of Representatives.
And it meant Trump chose a loyalist over more qualified lawyers who were in the mix as contenders.
Possible names included former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, and John Ratcliffe, who was given the nod as CIA chief.
“He saw that his previous AGs turned out to be creatures of the establishment,” said a source familiar with Trump’s thinking and his disappointment with top pick Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from investigating Russian election interference rather than assassinating them. and Bill Barr, who refused to back up his claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“So when he saw the other contenders doing their legal talk, he was turned off. Gaetz made it clear he was going to blow the place up.”
Gaetz was the subject of a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations.
He has never been charged, but that investigation and his friendship with Joel Greenberg, who is now serving 11 years in prison after admitting to paying women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men, will almost certainly take center stage in a stormy and difficult Senate. confirmation process.
There is an alternative. Trump could bypass the usual checks and balances by pushing through his appointee during a recess without a vote.
Gaetz faces a difficult Senate confirmation process for the role of U.S. attorney general
The process has been used before and is not unconstitutional, but could anger senators.
Either way, the attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official, will be one of Trump’s most important appointments, central to his plans to carry out mass deportations, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and to seek retaliation against political opponents.
“Gaetz will root out systemic corruption at DOJ and return the Department to its true mission: fighting crime and upholding our democracy and Constitution,” Trump wrote on social media when he announced his choice.
“We must have honesty, integrity and transparency at DOJ.”
Gaetz traveled with him aboard Trump’s plane to Washington, DC, on Wednesday morning.
And anonymous briefers suggested he was given the assignment while chatting with the former president alongside adviser Boris Epshteyn, while Wiles was elsewhere on the plane.
But a series of insiders told DailyMail.com that Gaetz’s name had long been considered and challenged the idea that Trump had gone rogue by giving Wiles and the rest of his team a surprise name.
“Gaetz has had aspirations of becoming attorney general for years,” said a recent passenger on Trump Force One.
“This feels like people are putting out a brief against Wiles, trying to undermine her authority and say she doesn’t have as much control as she does.”