Gaetz is a controversial figure within the party, who has clashed with other congressmen critical of the Republican and who was investigated by the ethics committee of the House of Representatives for having had sexual relations with a minor (for which which has not had criminal repercussions) and embezzlement. He was also the focus of controversy after inviting a Holocaust denier in 2018. Trump has referred to Gaetz as “a profoundly talented and tenacious lawyer” and as “a defender of the Constitution and the rule of law.” , in the press release announcing his appointment. “Matt will put an end to the instrumentalized Government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations and restore Americans’ faith and trust, so damaged, in the Department of Justice,” said Trump.
The Attorney General has the task of supervising and directing the operation of the Department of Justice. The current incumbent is Merrick B. Garland, who appointed Jack Smith as special prosecutor to lead the prosecution in the two federal cases against Trump: the classified Mar-a-Lago papers and the assault on Capitol on the sixth of January. If Smith doesn’t resign sooner, one of Gaetz’s first tasks will likely be to fire him. The attorney general not only faces the risk of losing his job, but also being one of the first victims of Trump’s wrath. “Dear Jack Smith: Get a lawyer,” scoffed Mike Davis, a Trump ally, after the election result was announced.
Since Trump won, Smith has been working to decide what to do with the two federal cases the president-elect has open. Both will be out of the question on Jan. 20, when Trump takes office, since the Justice Department cannot prosecute a sitting president.
The fear of some is the joy of others. If the political rivals against whom Trump has vowed revenge see Gaetz’s appointment as a threat, the hundreds of people convicted of the assault on the Capitol on January 6 see it as hopeful. One of the promises Trump has made during the campaign is to say that he will use his presidential power to pardon the assailants. During the day of January 6, members of the far-right militia known as the “Proud Boys” participated and led the attack. Enrique Tarrio, the president of the Proud Boys, has one of the highest sentences handed down: 22 years in prison.
The Republican has not specified whether he will pardon the hundreds of convicts there and assured that he would decide “case by case” when he returns to the White House. Now, who will be at his side in making the decision will be Gaetz, who in previous occasions has not only shown sympathy for the raiders in general, but also for the Proud Boys.
The election of Gaetz as attorney general has been a real surprise even for the ranks of the Republican party. The congressman’s belligerent temper is well known on Capitol Hill, where he has on several occasions disrupted sessions of the lower house, even once breaking into a high-security facility where Democrats were holding a hearing . Gaetz does not hide from it and even exhibits it as a virtue. In his X profile, bio, he describes himself as “a man from Florida, built for battle.” As a good ally of Trump, the congressman from Florida has dedicated himself to persecuting and attacking all the most moderate Republican congressmen critical of the president-elect.
After Trump’s loss to Biden, Gaetz went on tour America First with Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right congresswoman from Georgia and a big Trump supporter, in which they amplified the former president’s lies about fraud in the 2020 election.
The nomination of Gaetz must be approved by the Senate and even if it is in the hands of the Republicans, it is not so clear that all the senators are in favor of a figure as controversial as his. In the voting process, counting on the Democrats already opposing it, Gaetz can only afford to lose two votes from the Republicans.
