President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Rep. Matt Gaetz to head the U.S. Justice Department as his Attorney General.
Official Announcement:
It is my Great Honor to announce that Congressman Matt Gaetz, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The Attorney General of the United States. Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice. Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.
Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.
On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization.
He is a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law. Matt 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. We must have Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency at DOJ. Under Matt’s leadership, all Americans will be proud of the Department of Justice once again.
There is an old saying that a savvy leader always keeps a subordinate between himself and the problem. Pres. Trump has always wanted a Roy Cohn in his dealings. In New York, Roy Cohn represented Trump and did his dirty work. Cohn was later replaced by Michael Cohen. Matt has always done what is needed to ingratiate himself to powerful older men.
Matt is Pres. Trump’s Roy Cohn. If it advances the cause of his benefactor, Matt will do another’s dirty work. That is how politics works.
Matt sees the writing on the wall.
The House Ethics Committee is nearing the end of its probe of his alleged drug use, statutory rape, and human trafficking. This may forestall Matt’s demise: does he still merit investigation if he is no longer in the House? If his nomination fails, can Matt discreetly resign from the House to focus on running for Governor?
Could Matt expect to win a Republican primary for Governor in 2026 against Attorney General Moody or Lieutenant Governor Nunez, especially since he and Gov. DeSantis fell out?
I have serious reservations about Matt’s ability to survive the vetting and confirmation process necessary to be Attorney General. Matt will claim that any derogatory information presented against him (even if it is true and backed up by direct evidence) is untrue based on FBI bias and its fear of his wraith. Matt will claim that any allegations against him are the same Democratic conspiracy as the slander against Justice Kavanaugh.
Will a majority of the Senate believe Matt’s protestations of innocence?
It may be wise to ask ourselves some serious questions. Would you give Matt a TOP SECRET security clearance and trust him to sit on the National Security Council? Would you trust Matt to enforce drug and human trafficking laws? Would trust Matt to run any large organization? Does he possess the managerial acumen and maturity necessary to reform the Department of Justice?
In some ways, this may be a master stroke by Pres. Trump. He gets to reward a loyal sycophant while also eliminating him from Congress and the political picture. Pres. Trump gets revenge while Matt gets a soapbox. The Democrats, seeking an easy win, may very well turn the confirmation hearings into a lurid spectacle of Matt’s alleged transgressions. The Democrats will also use this as a way to call into question Pres. Trump’s judgment. If Matt’s nomination fails, what’s next for him?
If Matt becomes AG, how long will he will last? In my opinion, Pres. Trump is transactional and will discard those who lose their utility to him.