CNN anchor Jake Tapper could not contain his bewilderment after President-elect Donald Trump announced his shocking nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to serve as his attorney general.
“Welcome to The Lead, I’m Jake Tapper. And let me begin the show by uttering some words that I never contemplated using together before. And those words are: U.S. Attorney General Matt Gaetz,” the host opened his show on Wednesday night.
“Because if you were wondering what Trump without the guardrails looks like, well, we’re getting an idea beyond the theoretical,” he added.
Trump announced Gaetz to be his incoming administration’s country’s top prosecutor earlier Wednesday afternoon, sending shockwaves through Congress — even among Republicans, whom Gaetz has openly criticized.
The 42-year-old Republican firebrand, known for his fierce loyalty to Trump, immediately resigned from Congress after Trump’s announcement, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Gaetz’s resignation marks the end of a House Ethics Committee investigation that began in April 2021, over allegations that the congressman engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.
The ethics panel was reportedly set to vote Friday on whether to release its “highly damaging” report on Gaetz, according to Punchbowl News.
However, since Gaetz resigned, the panel no longer has jurisdiction to pursue the investigation.
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Trump called Gaetz a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who would “end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”
The former congressman will “root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution,” the incoming commander in chief vowed.
It’s unclear if Gaetz can secure the votes for a nomination despite GOP control of the Senate, as Gaetz’s appointment reportedly ruffled feathers of moderate Senate Republicans.
Several House GOP members meeting on Capitol Hill burst into laughter upon hearing the announcement, a source told The Post.
Other insiders told The Hill and Politico that some legislators gasped and one was seen laughing to the point of tears in a room where members were meeting to select their leadership team for the 119th Congress.
If confirmed, Gaetz would replace AG Merrick Garland, who Trump has long accused of going after Republicans — and who also led a sex-trafficking investigation into the Floridian, which the Department of Justice eventually dropped in 2023.