Gaetz

Posted on: November 14, 2024 at 06:04:36 CT

Republicans will likely have a small majority in the Senate, 53-47. If no Democrats support Gaetz, Republicans can lose only three votes and still confirm him. Several Senate Republicans indicated yesterday that they were unsure about whether they would vote for Gaetz.

Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, expressed relief that the Senate had the ability to block Gaetz. “I was shocked by the announcement — that shows why the advise and consent process is so important,” she said.

“I don’t think he’s a serious candidate,” Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, another moderate, said. Chuck Grassley of Iowa stopped answering reporters’ questions about the nomination and stood silently for 30 seconds. John Cornyn of Texas raised his eyebrows and said, “I’m still trying to absorb all this.” Joni Ernst of Iowa chuckled at the news, and said of Gaetz, “He’s got his work really cut out for him.”

Still, other Republican senators sounded open to supporting him. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who last year accused Gaetz of showing House colleagues videos of “the girls that he had slept with,” said yesterday that he trusted Trump’s decision making. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a staunch Trump ally, called Gaetz smart and qualified. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said Gaetz has “been on the receiving end of the D.O.J.’s weaponization” and called the department “in desperate need of reform.”

Trump “was elected to turn this place upside down,” Roger Marshall of Kansas said. “Americans don’t trust the Justice Department right now, and Matt has the talent to go in there and really make a difference.”

Gaetz has also made enemies. He led the effort to unseat Kevin McCarthy as House speaker last year. (Some of Gaetz’s House colleagues gasped when they learned of his nomination, CNN reported.) Gaetz also celebrated Mitch McConnell’s decision to step down as the Senate Republican leader; McConnell will now have to choose whether to vote to confirm Gaetz.

Trump has demanded that Senate Republicans recess the chamber so that he can make appointments without their votes. “This parade of loyalists is Mr. Trump’s first show of force to Senate Republicans, who will be under immense pressure to either confirm his nominee or sidestep that process altogether,” our colleague Katie Rogers writes.

Confirming Gaetz could also further narrow Republicans’ majority in the House, making it harder for them to pass legislation. The party has officially clinched House control, but by a slim margin. Gaetz preemptively resigned from Congress yesterday to give Republicans a chance to quickly fill his seat in a special election.

Gaetz’s investigations
In 2020, toward the end of Trump’s first term, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. opened an investigation into claims that Gaetz was involved several years earlier with a girl who was 17 at the time. Investigators sought to determine whether Gaetz had paid for sex in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws.

Prosecutors ultimately concluded that their case wasn’t strong enough and decided not to charge him. Gaetz says he did nothing wrong.

Gaetz has also been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2021. In that case, House investigators looked into allegations including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misusing state identification records and converting campaign funds to personal use. The ethics committee had been planning to release a critical report this week, but Gaetz’s resignation effectively ends the investigation and it’s unclear whether the findings will become public.