It is far from set in stone that 42-year-old Matt Gaetz will become the next US Attorney General.
Because even if the future US president, Donald Trump, has pointed to Gaetz, he – like all other future ministers – must have the green light from the Senate before he can take up the post. And that can be problematic.
This is written by the American television station NBC News, which has spoken to several Republican sources – including senators.
According to NBC News’ sources, there are up to 30 Republican senators who believe that Gaetz is not suitable for the job. If even some of them also choose to vote against him, it looks difficult for Gaetz.
It requires a simple majority to be approved in the Senate, which consists of a total of 100 senators.
The Republicans secured a majority of 53-47 in the election, and thus Gaetz can at most tolerate losing the support of three party members – if you also assume that all Democrats vote against.
In the event of a tie, Vice President JD Vance has the casting vote and thus can decide it in Gaetz’s favor.
It is extremely rare for a nominee to lose a vote to be approved as a minister, writes the American media CNN.
It happened at the end of 1989, when George HW Bush’s defense secretary nominee John Tower was rejected by the Senate.
Often a candidate withdraws before the vote if it is clear that there is no support. It has happened to at least one candidate for every president since Bill Clinton, writes CNN.
Several American media wrote earlier this week that the news of Trump’s selection of Gaetz as attorney general caused a great stir in the Republicans’ own ranks.
The choice is controversial, among other things, because Gaetz himself has been involved in an investigation carried out by the Ministry of Justice.
The case concerned Gaetz’s friend Peter Greenberg, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for, among other things, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual services.
In September, Gaetz said in a statement that he would no longer contribute to the investigation because he felt the victim of a “political vendetta.”
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
