Top 6 political reactions to Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general

By CP Staff, Tuesday, November 19, 2024

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be his attorney general was met with mixed reactions on Capitol Hill last week.

When Trump announced Gaetz as his pick last Wednesday, an "audible gasp" erupted among House Republicans who were in a closed-door meeting, according to ABC News. Audible cries of "Oh, my God!" rang out in the hallways of the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a source who spoke to CNN.

Gaetz, who has represented Florida's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2016, resigned his seat upon his nomination, prompting some critics to speculate that the nomination itself is an attempt to evade an investigation into him by the House Ethics Committee that has been ongoing since 2021.

Gaetz has been accused of attending sex parties, taking illicit drugs and paying an underage girl for sex, though he has denied any wrongdoing. The vote to release the ethics investigation was reportedly slated for Friday, shortly before Gaetz resigned, according to The Hill.

The House Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss if it will release the report against him.

Here are the top six reactions to Gaetz's controversial nomination.