Republicans "stunned and disgusted" as Trump taps Matt Gaetz for AG
Republicans "stunned and disgusted" as Trump taps Matt Gaetz for AG
Former President Trump shocked and appalled some Republican lawmakers on Wednesday by announcing plans to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general.
Why it matters: Republican reaction to even Trump's most controversial nominations has been muted so far, but placing the scandal-prone right-winger in the nation's highest law enforcement role is a step too far for many.
"We wanted him out of the House ... this isn't what we were thinking," quipped one House Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about Trump's decision.
What we're hearing: Trump's announcement was met with audible gasps by House Republicans during a conference meeting on Wednesday afternoon, multiple sources in the room told Axios.
One House Republican in the meeting described the conference's response as "stunned and disgusted."
What they're saying: "Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the senate," said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), referring to the British monarch who died in 2022.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), noting that Gaetz is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, said he would be "a compromised AG" and that "there are better choices."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was "shocked" by the pick: "This shows why the advice and consent process is so important and I'm sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing."
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Gaetz has "got his work really cut out for him" to get confirmed.
No they’re not. Go into their forums. They are already dismissing the allegations against him.
Conservatives do not care about crimes if it forwards their agenda.
It's only been a week since he was elected. Dude's not even in office yet and there's already shock and scandal coming from his own party. This is going to be a very long four years...
As designed by the media. Eternal despair is great for viewership.
I've been saying what will keep me alive the next four years is reminding Trump voters they are getting what they voted for every time they start to complain.
But, four years of even Republicans having to fight tooth and nail against his insanity would be even better.
The last time, when he was approaching 100 days in office, someone said that it felt like we were living in dog years. It's true, this week has been incredibly long and it won't get better.
I'm so tired. I can't handle another four years of journalism covering the most recent crazy thing he did or proposed every hour. Just a firehose of sneaky, selfish plans and actions.
Yeah yeah I'm sure they will do all sorts of gasping and then confirm him anyway. Despite what they say the lot of them are just Trump sycophants at this point.
Call your Senators, give them your name, zip code, and briefly tell them you oppose these noms. It DOES make a difference! Democracy doesn't stop at the ballot box, it has to be fought for
That was the whole of his last administration.
"What he's done is just awful. It must stop. This is the last time." For four years.
I'm just going to spend the next four years treating it like comedy. Nothing else I can do until the mid terms.
I'm pretty over believing stories about Republicans showing regret about Trump and his picks/actions. I'm 100% this is liberal media copium. Republicans love his ass and every asshole he hires
On the other hand I can see republican politicians pretending to be stunned in order to say one thing and do another. They get to pretend they don't like it for the political game and then actually support it.
They'll ALL bend the knee and smoke the pole when it's presented.
Hey pedophiles stick together
Wait… why would the leader of the face eating leopard party appoint a LEOPARD to the post of Facial Analysis?
Department Of Getting Eaten
Every conflict-of-interest-laundry-department is gonna be called the same so they can brag about small government.
Sorry, dear Americans we in Europe can't take all of you. Our borders are closed now. Steve Bannon once told us to do so. Sorry!
Sure.
He’ll be confirmed with no problem. They always give Trump whatever he wants.
And they lie. A lot.
If they dare to challenge him Trump will sic his army of sycophantic lunatics on them and they'll fold. It's cute that these moronic GOP senators think they get a choice in this.
Want to win a chance at maybe having power? Enter the contest by falling in line and kissing the ring.
I feel like we're going to see a lot of "Republicans ashamed of Trump" headlines while they sign their names in blood on everything he asks for.
If they wanted to, they could simply choose not to certify the election results or they could impeach and vote to remove him.
They won't. They're all complicit.
They're rightly scared of not being re-elected for daring to oppose him. Or worse.
Mark my words, you are going to see a LOT of railing against rebel Republicans from Trump. Or what few are left, anyway.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Gaetz has “got his work really cut out for him” to get confirmed.
Trump has already demanded that the Senate go into immediate recess so he can avoid the confirmation process altogether and just appoint them through recess appointments.
It will go the exact same way it did during Trump's first term: Trump will send out a mean tweet and any dissenters will fall in line. Worked 100% of the time last time.
Yep. I'm curious to see how shocked, stunned and disgusted they really are.
They are going to be so shocked, stunned, and disgusted that they're going to march right into the Senate chamber and vote the way he fucking told them to vote, but with a really big frowny face. I mean, it's the strongest message that the United States Congress could possibly send to him. What else are they supposed to do? Vote......against...... him? Criticize him......publicly? He might send out a mean tweet on both Twitter and Trump Social. These are politicians we're talking about here! With cushy jobs and six figure salaries and staff people who have staff people. They can't handle two mean tweets in one day!
They are all putting on their lip balm and puckering up to kiss his rotten asshole.
Leopards...leopards everywhere.
That is the chonkiest of leopards!!
And faces! Don't forget the faces.
Eugh. Raw face is just gross.
who spoke on the condition of anonymity
Definitely brings a feline word to mind.
Someone, somewhere wished that Rubio and Gaetz were no longer in Congress.
And the monkey paw curled a finger.
Careful what you vote for.
Rubio is probably the least controversial pick so far.
Yeah, at least he probably knew what the job was before he got it.
Do we get to bring back the "dispense with this notion" meme?
Thune (just chosen as the new Senate majority leader) has already agreed to recess the Senate so that Trump could appoint whoever he wants without going through the confirmation process by using the recess appointment process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recess_appointment
Yep. Add that to Trump's plan to fire all the military generals who won't swear loyalty to him and surprise! Fascism. (Well I guess it's not really a surprise.)
Spineless
People credibly accused of sex with children have to stick up for each other.
Matt "Pizza" Gaetz makes perfect sense for this role.
I wonder if they've reached out to Dave Coulier in his fragile state.
Where and when? The 17-yo he supposedly paid for sex, and flew across state lines, opened an OnlyFans site and refused to testify. As if the prosecutors wanted her testifying. His scumbag buddy that went down on federal charges, and was expected to rat him out, didn't.
Sorry, he got away free and clear. The ethics committee might have nailed him, but we can forget that plan is now stillborn.
Absolutely nothing you say contradicts "credibly accused of"
Every one of them will fall in line when they remember Trump's daughter in-law runs the RNC and their reelection funds are now contingent on obedience.
Bold of you to assume that any family member of Trump's would not already be stealing the money.
They'll just treat it like they're running a charity.
"This shows why the advice and consent process is so important and I'm sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) who added that she was "shocked" by the pick.”
Fuck. She’s going to vote for him, isn’t she…
Remember. According to Susan Collins, he learned his lesson with his first impeachment so he won't do corruption and crime stuff again. Because Trump pinky swore. Or something.
Of course she'll rubber stamp it.
You mean Trump didn't learn his lesson?!?
He's constantly Tarzaning from Trump's nuts, so he meets all of Trump's qualifications.
His biggest qualification is he has potential criminal cases he needs gone, just like trump does. Their interests are perfectly aligned. Gaetz will erase all traces of trump’s crimes and evidence without needing to be asked, right after he does the same for himself.
Why in the world would Republicans think that Trump would make sensible appointments? What has he done in the past, that would make them think this?
Bunch of disappointed losers sad that daddy picked someone else to be his special boy. Disgust would require these shitsacks to have morals.
In other news, the nomination of Matt Gaetz as AG by Donald Trump has moved the Mitt Romney Outrage Meter from "distasteful" to "bothersome".
How many steps are we away from a furrowed brow?
Oh good lord.
You know, it's kind of weird to me that there are republicans stating he won't be confirmed, which, also has me wondering, does that mean he does not have a senate full of Yes men?
Trump isn't going to like that, so I assume they will change their mind after a little private one on one meeting with him.
Trump will bully the senators that go against him like he always does
Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the senate,"
Dem senators should help confirm him to help Trump show the nation he wants to burn everything down.
No they aren't.
They voted for it and they wanted this.
No, they aren't. Quit lying.
They might be, right now.
See, there's plenty of time before they actually have to cast a vote. So I'm sure that means Trump will send some mean tweets out about them. And then they'll make the pligrimage down to Mar-a-Lago, bend the knee, say 3 Hail Donalds as penance and promise to insult a brown person on their way out before returning to Washington, DC and voting to confirm him.
They're not going to cast votes. This will all be done with recess appointments, and all of these "concerned" senators will "express their concerns" with the exploitation of the recess appointment process and lament that there was nothing they could do about it.
They had really hoped that Mr. Trump would cooperate with the advice and consent process, but what can they do if he pursues the recess route? It really is too bad and all of that.
Everybody's surprised that he's picked this guy , but it's because he's compromised that he's picked him.
He has or will have all the shady shit he's done on his desk every morning they have a meeting to remind him what to do.
Elect a clown, expect a circus.
Common guys, we've already been through this.
No, what we sat through was the pre-show with puppets and clowns. Next up is the twisted, gore-filled main event. They’ve been beating the elephants and starving the lions. There will be carnage.
It's just gonna be never ending laughing to keep from crying from here on out.
Great accelerationist pick, appreciated by both nazis and tankies
Always thought he looked more like Beavis, myself.
Outrageous choice.