Trump dares Republicans to challenge his unchecked power after shock move to name Matt Gaetz attorney general

Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the Republican Party Wednesday night with his announcement that he will appoint Matt Gaetz as his attorney general in a bold test of his unchecked power.

Republican senators were stunned by news that the MAGA-inflammatory Florida congressman had been picked for one of the top jobs in Trump’s second administration, a sign they could try to block his confirmation.

Gaetz, 42, is the subject of an ethics investigation into claims of sexual misconduct, bribery and drug use — which he denies — and was also the focus of unsubstantiated sex trafficking claims involving a 17-year-old girl.

Trump’s nomination of Gaetz poses an immediate test of loyalty, days after the president-elect sent a signal to Senate leaders by demanding the power to make his own “recess appointments” when Congress is out of town.

It means he could appoint members of his Cabinet without the 50 votes needed in the Senate.

Critics are calling the move to make Gatez attorney general a “catastrophic” event that puts Trump’s enemies in the line of fire of the nation’s top law enforcement official.

It’s also a new test of loyalty for Senate Republicans, who on Wednesday chose Sen. John Thune as party leader over MAGA-linked Sen. Rick Scott, even after nearly all of them backed Trump’s presidential run.

Even if Gaetz were to see his nomination fail, the clash could provide cover for other controversial Trump nominees.

Trump announced his decision just minutes after issuing a statement saying he will nominate Tulsi Gabbard, who angered critics with claims about “biolabs” in Ukraine, as director of National Intelligence. He has also chosen Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the sprawling Defense Department.

Republicans who received the Gaetz nomination – apparently without prior consultation – showed their shock through both their words and their silence.

Charles Grassley, the 91-year-old Iowa Republican, was so “annoyed” by questions that he stopped speaking to reporters and stood stone-faced for 30 seconds, Punchbowl reported.

Grassley helped pass Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and has a long-standing interest in congressional oversight, and has been a key figure in pushing Trump’s priorities along with outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell .

Another senator, John Cornyn of Texas, looked as if he “tasted something strange” when he heard the news, the Hill reported, just hours after losing the race to become Senate leader.

Trump’s nominations, which signaled unbridled control of the party, came after Senate Republicans rejected MAGA-friendly Senator Rick Scott of Florida as Republican leader.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was “shocked” by the announcement, the Huffington Post reported. Collins was one of seven Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after January 6.

Republicans will control the Senate 53-47. Despite the protests, it is not yet clear that they will or can muster the will to oppose Trump in such a crucial appointment that is so clearly important to the newly elected president.

Recently, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was mentioned, who made a very damaging statement about Gaetz in the past.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) looked stone-eyed when he heard the news

John Cornyn of Texas looked like he “tasted something strange” when he heard the news, the Hill reported, just hours after losing the race to become Senate leader

Trump announced the move after meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House and thanking him for the orderly transition

“We had all seen the videos he showed on the House floor… of the girls he had slept with. He would brag about how he would crush ED drugs and follow it up with an energy drink so he could pull an all-nighter,” the former House member said in October 2023. Gaetz called it “a lie.”

Mullin said on CNN after news of the nomination, “Matt Gaetz and I, there’s no question we’ve had our differences. They’ve been very public about it. I fully trust President Trump’s decision-making in this area. There will be many questions. He has to answer those questions. And hopefully he can answer the questions correctly. If he can do that, we’ll go through the confirmation process.”

That seemed to leave open the possibility that he would support him.

Republicans, including Trump’s pick for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have said he deserves to have his Cabinet in place.

Trump acted as enforcer and ultra-loyalist Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) made a threat on television to every Republican swamp creature who votes against the controversial nomination.

“He deserves the team around him that he wants,” the senator told Fox Business. ‘It is not up to us to determine that. We have 53 votes in the Senate. With 51 we can confirm it. I’ve already seen a couple say we’re not voting for him. Wait a minute. You are not the United States of America. You have one vote in the United States Senate, you were not elected president… If you want to get in the way, fine, but we’re going to try to get you out of the Senate too, if you try that.’

A rule change allows Republicans to push through any Cabinet nomination with a simple majority vote, just as they can confirm Trump’s judicial nominations.

The late Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed the “nuclear option” to end the nomination filibuster in 2013 when Republicans held up Barack Obama’s nominees.

A campaign staffer told DailyMail.com: ‘In every new administration it seems there is always at least one candidate who has to drop out because they don’t have the votes in the Senate, and now it seems we are out of the guessing game. whoever fulfills this role is no more this time.’

There is already commented that Trump’s push for recess appointments indicated that his second term would be more radical than the first. One analyst, attorney Edward Whelan, called it a “terrible anti-constitutional scheme” by overriding the “advice and consent” of the Senate, a key check on executive power.

In the House of Representatives, where Gaetz has both friends and enemies but no role in the confirmation process, there were early ominous predictions for the nomination.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) hinted at the stakes in a comment to Politico. “Are you crazy about me for just asking that question? No!’ he asked if Gatz had the experience and character to be AG. “But damn, you print that out and now I’m going to be examined,” he added.

Representative Max Miller, a former Trump aide, told Axios: “Gaetz has a better chance of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than of being confirmed by the Senate.”

Democratic senators who campaigned on calling Trump a threat to democracy went into overdrive.

“He (Gaetz) has openly called for the abolition of law enforcement agencies if they are not aligned with conservative political priorities,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told CNN, calling it a “red alert moment.” for American democracy.”

“Matt Gaetz is being nominated for one reason and one reason only. He will carry out Donald Trump’s transition of the Justice Department from an agency that stands up for all of us to one that is simply an arm of the White House designed to pursue and prosecute Trump’s political enemies.

“Matt Gaetz is being nominated because he will be and is a political agent of Donald Trump. The consequences of this choice, this particular choice, are stunning and potentially catastrophic for American democracy. “I hope some Republicans in the Senate will see that,” he added.

The gamble also came on a day when Trump joked about his run for a third term, which is barred by the 22nd Amendment.

Despite the anger, Trump expressed certainty about the nomination when he made it. “Matt will end the armed government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations, and restore Americans’ deeply damaged faith and trust in the Justice Department,” Trump wrote.

“On the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax and exposing alarming and systemic government corruption and weaponization,” Trump said .

The DOJ under President Biden ended its sex trafficking investigation against Gaetz without filing charges.